K9s in Kombat
by BeanieBabyBoi
Summary: When if Task Force 141 had dogs on their team? When if some of our favorite members were the K9s? (Crappy summary with a crappy story. But I'm posting it anyway!) (Rated T for some violence later in one of the chapters) [COMPLETE]
1. The Leader, The Ghost, and The Runt

**Okay. So a few quick words, I spotted some errors in this chapter and I just had to remake it. Mistakes happen, but when I see a typo in my stories, it drives me absolutely insane and I just want to fix them. So this is what I did for chapter. That was more than a few words, but I'm ending it here.**

 **SIDE NOTES: The name Mac is short for Mactavish (because who names a dog Soap?), all dogs are German Shepherds, and General Shepherd is human.**

* * *

Soldiers are tough, but their dogs can be a bit more firm. These dogs are trained to rip out their enemy's got the best scent to track down their target or sniff out anything that may interrupt their objective. Some dogs were too forceful to be in a simple group of Rangers. The hounds that were above average were considered advanced, and those selected were moved over to an elite group of soldiers; Task Force 141. Like soldiers, this unit sticks together, and like in an everyday life for human beings, every dog plays a role.

Mac was the first German Shepherd to serve alongside the upper class band of brothers. He used to be a K9 for SAS, but he was soon transferred to Firebase Pheonix after almost a year of spending his life there. He's the eldest and most daring, and he's been known to be the alpha of the pack.

Ghost was the one that humans had feared at first. He looked like some torn up wolf at first, having dozens of scars on his body including a long scrape across his nose. Like Mac, he was an SAS dog, only he wasn't a regular transfer. He was found. After one mission gone wrong, Ghost was separated from his group of humans and captured by his enemy. He was abused nonstop by his two captors, and was sometimes deprived of food. The more torture he received, the more sadistic he became. Though he looked thin and weak, his anger held him together. He finally attacked his captors viciously. Killing the first one, and then mutilating the last one. A week after, Ghost wandered aimlessly and grew fragile due to the lack of nutrition. Fortunately, he had come across a group of small campers in the Northern Border of Iran. At first, they mistaken him for a wild animal. However by looking at his tags, the campers returned Ghost safely back to the U.K. But to the dog trainers, Ghost sure didn't seem to play friendly like he used to. He'd try to kill them, and hearing about his determination, General Shepherd requested to have Ghost join the family.

Other regular transfers included three German Shepherds with the name Ozone, Archer, and Royce. Their skill was stealth. However, there was one more. Roach (Yes. That's his name) is the runt of the pack. He earned this name at ten weeks old, when he was just beginning his training as a K9. Upon one of the training sessions, he was violently attacked by one of the older dogs. That resulted in having a small bit of his ear torn off, and nearly losing his life due to blood loss. However he's still up and wagging his tail. Roach isn't the best dog when it comes to pouncing on his enemies, but he's got the best scent in the business. Because of his open ears and clear smell, he's the reason most of the Rangers are alive. Now his scent lead him into an elite pack, where he can put his nose into even more dangerous obstacles.


	2. Canine Conversations

**Wow! Some people are actually checking the story out! 0_o I'm actually a bit surprised. I'm glad some readers are liking my weirdness :D In this chapter, the dogs communicate to each other. The italic sentences is the 'dog language'.**

 **(Guest) Boopem:** **Oh my gosh! Your review made me smile SO big, and it stayed there all morning. And I changed 'Simon' to 'Ghost'. Thanks for reviewing :D**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves: Thank you! Here's the update. :)**

 **aliyahd: True, but I'm trying hard not to include blood and gore. XD**

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Mac and Ghost laid comfortably in the shade as they saw four energetic K9s chase a bouncing, glowing tennis ball. From the looks of it, they seemed to be having a great time, especially Roach, considering that he's been overpowered a couple of times by the three bigger dogs. Mac huffed through his nose once, _"Poor pup."_

 _"Who?"_ Ghost inquired, sitting up.

 _"Roach."_ The scarred hound looked over at the scrawny Shepherd, who was trying his absolute best to keep up with the others, and he said, _"He's used to it."_

Mac looked over at Ghost, _"So you're saying you were never like that when you had a little bit of 'play time' with your old friends?"_

 _"I never did that,"_ Ghost replied, _"I didn't catch any balls unless it meant tearing them apart."_

Mac stayed staring at Ghost in silence for a moment. He knew what he meant. _"Okay then..."_ And then he pretended he never heard Ghost say that. He turned his attention back to the reckless dogs, seeing that this time Roach had the small tennis ball in his mouth. _"I got it! I got it!"_ He cheered, mostly muffled because he had the ball stuck in his mouth. Mac chuckled.

Roach returned the ball to the pitcher, and looked over at the two shaded dogs with a large, open-mouthed grin, and then he once more raced the three others to receive the toy once more. _"Not bad for a runt,"_ Mac commented.

 _"He caught a ball,"_ Ghost said dully.

 _"I'm just being nice. It's healthy once in a while."_

 _"Hmph. Never thought of that before."_

Mac sighed, a bit fed up with Ghost's attitude, _"You're really not afraid to say whatever comes to your mind, huh?"_

 _"I'm not afraid of anything."_

Mac stayed awkwardly silent again, not really sure how to respond. So he stood up and arched his back, letting the tension out of his spine. Then he went to join his brothers in for a game of catch. Ghost rested his head against the cool concrete, and observed wearily. However before he got too comfortable, heard his name being called, "Ghost! C'mere, Ghost!" The German Shepherd looked over to the direction of the voice, and saw his handler. He stood on his four paws and walked on over to the soldier.

"Sit," he said. Ghost sat and waited patiently to see what was in store. The handler pulled out a small, white bottle. Ghost knew what it was. Those were his pain pills. Even now, he still remembers and feels the pain of being tortured, and he's required to swallow these tablets twice every three weeks. But God, how he hated these. As his owner pulled out a tablet, Ghost quickly took off in the opposite direction. "No, Ghost! Come back here! Ghost!" Mac and Roach stopped for a moment, seeing that Ghost was quickly strolling away from having his pills stuck down his throat. _"Mac,"_ Roach began, _"I heard some of your conversation before you came out here."_

 _"Heh, it's those big ears,"_ Mac said.

 _"Did Ghost mention something about not being afraid of anything?"_

 _"He did."_

 _"Then why is he afraid of taking his pills?"_

 _"I dunno, Roach."_

Roach ran over and stopped Ghost in his tracks, and he kept blocking off his path. _"Roach, get out of the way,"_ Ghost growled.

 _"Are you scared?"_ Roach inquired, hesitant for a moment.

 _"What? No. Move."_

 _"Then why are you walking away?"_

 _"Now Roach-"_ Ghost's sentence was cut off by his handler quickly grabbing his collar. "Thanks, Roach," the human said with a laugh. Roach wagged his tail once, and observed casually as two tablets were forcefully stuck down Ghost's throat. Ghost resisted back the urge to hack up his medication, but it was done quickly. "See?" The handler said, "That wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" Ghost pulled away from the human's hands and shook off.

 _Bleh... I absolutely hate those_

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 **So, sorry for the short chapter, but hopefully I can make longer ones in the future. But yeah! There will surely be more thrill for these doggies. I'll start drafting the third chapter. Hope you liked some of it, and have a nice day! Peace out!**


	3. Pretty Please?

**Okay! I'm back. I'd first like to thank everyone that rated and reviewed. I've been really stressed out lately, and just reading what you have to say about my stories just helps me gain some confidence to keep going. Thank you so much! ;)**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves** **: They'll get into some trouble for sure. You can count on that :)**

 **CodeSixty** **: Wow! Thank you for that comment! But sadly, I'm not God. Xp**

 **Boopem** **: Glad you like the puppiness! Here's the update. :D**

 **Guest : I'm glad you like the fluffiness :)**

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On helicopter rides, Royce wasn't too cozy to be in the air. By now, all K9s would've been used to being airborne. But Royce, on the other hand, has had a bit anxiety on these kind of rides because he doesn't have his paws on the ground. Even when he was safe in the arms of his handler, he's somehow always fidgety and whiny. It'd annoy the hell out of everyone around him, but even his care-taker couldn't do anything about it. He'd once in while give Royce a tug on his harness to shut his snout, but that'd only keep him quiet for a couple of seconds. Almost all dogs seemed to have enough with Royce's anxious behavior, but Archer seemed to be at the end of his rope.

 _"Would you just relax?!"_ Archer snapped, _"You're not gonna fly out of here."_

 _"When if?!"_ Royce whimpered, _"Y-You know, when if we just **happened** to crash and burn right here?! Right this second!?"_

 _"Tsh. We'd need some miracle for that to happen-"_

 _"Miracle?!"_

 _"Great word choice, Archer"_ Mac mumbled.

Roach lowered his ears and sighed, resting his head against one of the soldier's legs. Ghost however, seemed quite amused to hear the commotion the two Shepherds were fussing about. It was ridiculous to hear, but at the same time it was very funny. Mac and Roach were on the same page, feeling entirely annoyed. _"Mac,"_ Roach began, _"Can you make them stop whining?"_

 _"Why don't you do it?"_ Mac inquired, raising his ears up a bit.

 _"Well... I-I mean I would do it on my own, but they seem to listen to you better."_

Mac scoffed, with a little chuckle, _"I see. You're still caught up in being a shy pup?"_

 _"Wait-What? No. I've outgrown that."_

 _"Sure you have."_

Roach didn't respond. He's been in this K9 unit for a year now. He's not afraid to go wherever his nose leads him, he's not afraid to pounce on his prey, but he's always hid inside his bubble around most of the other dogs since his last cooperation with a canine didn't go too smoothly. Being around Ghost and Mac did make him feel a bit more comfortable because he knows that those two aren't going to put him into the infirmary.

Roach didn't answer anyway, and he slowly laid himself on his handler's feet. But he looked at Mac with those dark, brown poutful eyes. In other words, _Pretty please?_ Mac couldn't say no to such an innocent-looking runt like Roach, and sighed, _"Alright. Alright."_

Mac turned over to see that the two K9s were still having their silly little "ranting session". He mentally prepared to make his orders firm and clear. Then he barked, _"Will you mutts shut up already?!"_ The two dogs fell silent. Royce, holding back his urge to whine and panic, had finally chose to listen to the eldest. Some of the soldiers on the chopper laughed, seeing that Mac's super bark had cured the noise.

Mac looked down at Roach, who wagged his tail a little bit, _"Thanks for that."_

 _"That's the only time I'm doing it,"_ he said, _"Then I better hear you bark your voice out next."_

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 **Hooray** **! Third chapter! I've really been digging into this. (Da-dum-tss!) Hahahaha! okay... have a nice day... :)**


	4. Icy Paws

**Finally! Here's the next update! Last week has been a bit chaotic. There were a bunch of tests given and that's been putting a bunch of weight on my shoulders, and whenever I had some trouble write this chapter, it didn't go well and I ended up rewriting this chapter over and over and over and so on. But hopefully this week will be perfectly A-Okay. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Onward with the story!**

 **Sad rain in the cold winter:** **Haha! Yeah. Hope you like it though ;)**

 **Boopem:** **Yup! That's our pouty-eyed-Roach right there! Here's the awesome doggy chapter!**

 **aliyahd:** **Thanks! Here's the next update!**

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Roach and Royce were startled by sudden loud sounds coming from outside, causing the flight-feared K9 to panic once more. _"I knew it! We're being attacked! I told you-"_

 _"Oh, would you just shut up?!"_ Archer asked, irritated. Roach sat up and looked over at Mac, who preparing for whatever was going on outside. _"You ready, Roach?"_ The oldest K9 questioned, _"From the sound of things, it seems that we're gonna be putting our paws into ice."_

 _"Y-Yeah,"_ Roach said, perking his ears up.

Mac was right. Literally. As the hatch door slowly dropped open, the dogs felt a cold breeze brush against their fur. Then as soon as they knew it, they were hopping into snow up to their forearms, and both humans and dogs found themselves standing in the open of the war-zone. Roach huffed the cold out of his nostrils and quickly ran to cover. He stayed low, making it look like he was laying in the snow. There was so much going on, he didn't know where to begin. First there was the air support taking care of reinforcements and other heavy-armored machines heading their way, which caused to pick up smoke and snow, and there were hostiles flooding in from up front and from the sides.

Already, Ghost was nipping at his enemy's heels and sinking his teeth into their limbs. Roach was still waiting for a perfect time to pounce on one of his targets, but he was suddenly caught off guard when he saw a figure in the snow and smoke. The shape was obviously a dog, but he couldn't tell if it wolf or a hostile K9. _No... Domestic animals flee from something like this._

Roach was about to attack that dog, until it just ran away from the danger. Now filled with confusion, the runt stood up straight and watched as the figure ran out of sight. _"Roach!"_ He heard Mac call, _"We could really need your assistance right now!"_

 _"Wha-... Oh! Right!"_ Roach stuttered, and he ran to latch onto his prey.

Meanwhile, Ghost seemed to be having a blast with all of this. Since his captivity, he **sometimes** despised human beings. They're reckless and harmful, and now he wants to give them the pain they give to him. Whenever he sinks his teeth into their flesh, he enjoys feeling that taste of warm and salty blood. Mac knew that Ghost was a little jacked up in the head, and he often wondered what his captors did to him.

Things seemed to be going peachy up until the copter's tail was suddenly ignited in flames, and it began spinning uncontrollably. _"Roach! Get back!"_ Mac barked. Roach looked up, seeing that the chopper was heading for him, and he quickly ran out of its range. As it crashed, Roach heard one of his doggy ally yelp. He looked over, seeing that Royce had one of his legs sticking out and he was resting against the cold-snowy floor. " _Royce!"_ Roach called out.

He ran over, seeing that Royce was still breathing. _"Are you okay-"_

 _"Does it look like it?"_ Royce snapped, _"I told you guys that thing was gonna crash."_

Roach ignored that statement and seized onto Royce's harness, proceeding to pull him away from the angry mob of hostiles. _Doggone it! Where's that human when you need it?_ Roach's prayers were answered as one of the handlers came by and helped carry Royce, making it quicker for them the get away.

Soon enough, everyone had managed to loose the enemies, giving them a breather. _"Is everyone okay?"_ Mac panted.

 _"I was,"_ Ghost muttered, _"Up until we had to run."_

 _"Did at least get enough blood on your teeth?"_ Archer asked, mockingly.

 _"No. But I know where to get more."_ Ghost stalked onto Archer, and the other K9 got into his defensive stance. Then the two rough-housers had a brawl, only Ghost didn't really intend on making Archer a dead dog. Roach and Mac observed while the humans kept themselves busy and warm. One was examining Royce's gash on his thigh, one was fiddling around with some intel box, and the others were focusing on keeping each other warm.

* * *

It soon became dark, and no one was expecting it. But they were gathered by a small campfire, their only source of warmth until their extraction was near. Mac and Roach stayed huddled together, Mac's head resting on top of Roach's furry head. The runt was so close to falling asleep, when Mac suddenly got up and stretched, _"I'm gonna go check on Royce. I'll be back."_

 _"Mm-hmm..._ " Roach suddenly wished he had Mac cuddled next to him again. It was very cold, and his fur coat wasn't really helping. He whined a little before resting his head back into the snow. That was up until he heard crunching footsteps from a distance. He quickly sat up, looking in the direction the footsteps came from. Then he got up and shook off the light snow sticking to his fur. He went to investigate with no hesitation. The humans didn't seem to pay attention to where the K9 was venturing off to. But Ghost saw it, and he followed the planted footsteps caused by his runt.

It took longer and longer to find where Roach was heading, and Ghost picked up his pace to find his dog standing in the middle of the moonlight. Only he was absolutely frozen. His tail was tucked in between his legs, and he was shaking. Ghost saw what he was looking at, and he was taken back for a moment.

What they saw was a pair of yellow, glowing eyes.

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 **Oh. I just love cliffhangers! Don't you? The next update will be here soon. Hope you liked it so far. :)**


	5. Run Roach Run!

**Okay! I did it! I got through the tough week and now onward with the next chapter!**

 **Sad rain in the cold winter:** **Aw. Sry m8 (And I'm sorry for saying mate like m8. That's something I'm never going to do again)**

 **Guest:** **Glad you like the story, and I agree that Roach is a little cutie :)**

 **WolfenOut:** **Yeah, the chapters are going to be a little short, but I'm glad you like the story :D**

 **Boopem:** **Yeah. Poor lil' Royce got chopped. But he lives, and you'll find out what happens to Ghost and Roach in this chapter! And yes, we gotta stay strong when it comes to school :p**

* * *

Ghost would've wanted to engage in combat by now. But when he saw the figure of the predator come out of the shadows, he hid back into his dark cover. That animal was no wolf or deer. That thing was bigger than Roach and Ghost. It's fur coat was dark and thick, and its claws were sharper and longer. Roach had his back arched like a scared little kitty cat, and the hairs stood a little. His tail was tucked in further between his legs, and he was absolutely frozen, not daring to move.

 _"Roach,"_ Ghost whispered, _"Just... Get over here slowly."_ Roach could hear Ghost's voice, and obeyed his words. Reluctant to move at first, he shakily moved his back leg back a little. _"You're okay. Just move towards me, and don't look at it."_ Roach missed that part. He his eyes were kept directly on the bear, its nostrils were flaring as he sniffed at its dinner. Then the beast stood on its hind legs, and Roach stopped again. He felt so small, almost like he was a pup again. The bear landed back on its feet and growled, a sign that it was going to attack.

 _"Okay, Roach,"_ Ghost said, _"Now run."_

 _"But-"_

 _"Just do it!"_

 _"Okay!"_ Roach took off in a different direction, along with the bear following behind the young runt. Ghost watched as the two ran out of his sight. Then he barked and howled, a signal to the other dogs that they need to get their fury, frozen tails over here right now.

Roach ran as fast as his paws could go, dodging trees and leaping rocks. The bear wasn't far behind him, maybe like about five feet away. But it was close and hungry. Roach could hear it growling as it took its wide and powerful steps. _Don't look back. Don't look back. What are you doing?! I told you not to look back! But I guess you can't do it anyway! Where's Ghost? Where's everybody when you need them?_ The runt sharply turned left, and the bear slid and collided with the tree ahead of him. Roach knew that the predator was now far behind him.

 _"Haha! Eat my dust, Teddy-"_ Roach was suddenly sliding and rolling defiantly down a steep and snowy hill. It didn't feel really good to land harshly on his side, but he took a moment to rest and shake off the snow sticking to his body. _"Woah, that actually wasn't too bad,"_ He sighed with exhaustion. He looked up at the hill, seeing that the bear was charging at him yet again. _"Aw, c'mon!"_ Roach shook his head and took off again before he felt the beast's sharp teeth. He seriously was getting tired. Using all of his speed the first time gave him less stamina for the second round. But fortunately, the bear seemed to be getting worn out as well.

Not even paying attention, Roach slipped again. Only this time, he found that he was standing on a hard and icy surface. He looked and saw that the solid floors were spread out, and there weren't any trees standing upon this sacred ground. _It's frozen water._ Surprisingly, he saw that the bear wasn't following him on the frozen lake. Roach cheered mentally, seeing that he was safe on the ice rink. But the bear had other plans. It placed one paw on the ice, and it cracked.

Once again, Roach froze in fear. _Wait. It's not solid!?_ He saw as the crack was slowly creeping up on where he was standing. _"Do you seriously want me in your mouth?"_ Roach whined. He couldn't really know if the bear understood what he said. Probably had no idea that Roach wanted to live. His paws tensed up, so that he was completely still. But he didn't know what good that would do. There's no way out. If he moves, he'll fall into freezing cold liquid below the ice. If he doesn't move, then he'll end up in the bear's belly. So basically, he's a dead dog.

* * *

 **Okay. So, a few quick notes. This was yet another chapter I had to rewrite a thousand times because it didn't come out right. Then there were a few things inaccurate about this chapter. For instance, I don't know if bears have night vision or if their eyes glow in the dark. They also don't really eat whatever moves in front of them. To be honest, I know nothing about bears other than the moms can be really aggressive sometimes (Depending on what you do) and they can charge straight and will slow down if they need to turn a corner. 0_o Okay, wow... That was a really nerdy moment.**

 **I'm gonna stop talking now and work on the other chapter. Maybe I can post two in a day depending on how the next one goes. Happy Halloween!**


	6. Perfect Timing

**Hello readers! Ready for more fluffiness? Well you're in for a treat in this one!**

 **Boopem: Yeah. I actually intended on making the predator a wolf, but most wolves stay in packs and let's just say that it'd make Roach and Ghost dead dogs too quickly, so I added some 'umph'. Here's the update!**

* * *

Roach knew he was screwed. With negative temp. water at his paVovkas and a hungry bear... Yeah. He knew there wasn't a way out of this situation. However, he had managed to stay calm, even with the ice breaking below him. He kept his cool and tried not to panic. But on the inside, he was freaking out. Just looking at the widened unfrozen water made him think about how cold it will be once he greets that bitter coldness.

He blinked, suddenly remembering about Ghost. _Ooh! He'll come and save me... Perhaps. Maybe anyone?_

 _Okay... Yeah. It's pretty much time to play dead. Literally_

Before Roach could panic once more, he saw a dog figure leap onto the bear's back. He was relieved at first, but he didn't recall one of the 141 dogs smelling like a wet, barnyard animal. He also saw that the dog didn't have a vest on its body. But he kindly knew that his savior wasn't a wild animal or another enemy.

He stared in awe, seeing that Ghost wouldn't do something like this. The dog, bull-riding that beast, was tugging at the back of the bear's neck, in hopes that it'd tear off some of its flesh and fur. It managed to get something off of the beast as it was knocked off, and it made the bear even more agitated and aggressive.

The dog snarled and barked, asking for more of a fight. But there didn't appear to be one as Roach's attention was turned over to the shadowy forest. The sound of nearby footsteps caught his ear, and the sight of his unit and soldiers gave him more relief. The dogs barked at the bear, seeing if they could scare it. But with its tempered behavior, the soldiers opened fire in order to save the youngest K9. Roach stood frozen for a moment, seeing that his furry ass just got saved.

 _"Roach! Are you okay?"_ He heard Mac's voice ask sternly.

 _"Eh... Yeah..."_

 _"Then I suppose you can get over here on your own."_

 _"Pssh. Yeah. I'm coming."_

 _"Okay. But just watch your-"_ *SPLASH* _"Step..."_

Roach sputtered the cold water and attempted to get back on the ice, _"I'm okay!"_

Mac sighed with tension. He wasn't going to lie, but he was worried sick about Roach. Being the oldest of the pack meant having responsibilities, and one would be keeping an eye on the youngest (Especially Roach). When Mac heard Ghost's alert, his mood was immediately filled with stress and worries. _Who got hurt? What's the situation?_ He was relieved to see that Roach was out of the danger he was in, but it'd be worse if he never got out. If that were to happen, Mac would be stuck feeling like he failed one of his duties as a leader. He observed Ghost pulling Roach out of the water and getting him back to the shore.

 _"That's quite a raw pisspup you've got there,"_ The strangered dog commented, walking over to Mac. Mac sighed again, changing the subject as soon as he saw the Shepherd's, beaten face, _"And you are?"_

 _"Call me John,"_ He said, bowing his head in introduction.

 _"Mac."_

 _"Heh. That's funny. I knew a runt with a name like that."_ Mac blinked, feeling an uneasy feeling in his gut. _John... Pisspup... Where did I hear those before?_ John was feeling the same way himself. Hearing Mac's voice for some reason brought back memories of his past life. There were his allies, and then there were a couple of puppies too. But one has grown on him. Mac felt like a pup; an unskilled trainee. It suddenly clicked for both of them, but both were afraid to say something.

Mac said something first, _"John... You were part of the SAS unit. Is that true?"_

 _"I used to be..."_ John answered. _It's him... That's my Mac._

Both dogs looked at each other in the eyes, feeling that the uneasiness has passed through. It was true. They did know each other, and they were acquaintances a long time ago. Now they're reunited.

 _"I-It... Really is you,"_ Mac stammered.

 _"I'd say the same thing,"_ John stated, trying to stay calm. He studied his little friend, seeing that he was very different. He chuckled a little, _"Look at you now."_

Delayed to notice, their attention was directed to a chopper hovering over a glowing flare, and everyone was getting in. Though Roach, already freezing up, had to be lifted in. One of the soldiers whistled for Mac to come over, now seeing that there was a stray K9. Mac looked over at the old dog. _"Come with us."_

 _"You really want me to come?"_ John inquired, tilting his head.

 _"Yes sir. Besides, I think my mutts could use some of your skills."_

 _"Hey! I'm not a mutt!"_ Roach barked.

John seemed hesitant for a moment, but pawed at Mac gently, _"Then I'll come."_

 _"Okay,"_ Mac wagged his tail, _"Then right this way."_

 _"By the way, what the hell kind of name is 'Roach'?"_

* * *

 **Yay! I brought the old man back into the story and made him into an old doge! Hope you like it so far! There's more to come :)**


	7. Pisspup

**Okay, so this chapter is going to be focusing on a little bit of Mac's backstory. However this is going to be the only chapter with a flashback, and we'll switch back to some more of Roach's pouty-eyed cuteness and some other puppy shenanigans later on. But I hope you like the chapter!**

 **SIDENOTES: I'd normally do a flashback in italic sentences, but they won't be in there this time since it's already chosen for the dog dialogue. I'd do a bold font for the conversations. But some readers find that a bit distracting.**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves:** **Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Seems you're enjoying overloading on puppy cuteness :D**

 **Military Geek:** **Yeah, everyone loves Roach in this story (But it's true that he's a cutiepie). Here's the next update :)**

* * *

Pisspup. That's a word Mac hasn't heard in a long time. It's been maybe three years since that's been said. It was a term John used on Mac for quite a while upon being a bit of a troubled pup in K9 training. Mac sighed shakily, but it was in a funny away. Just thinking about his old friend brought back memories. Starting with that first, simple training session.

* * *

 *** Three years earlier***

Mac may have been about six weeks old when he was the FND to his K9 schooling. He was with a few other new trainees on his first week, and he appeared to be the youngest pup out of them all. For the moment, all of them had absolutely no idea what was coming to them. In fact, they were clueless. They didn't even know why they were here. Mac wondered the same thing, but his thoughts were interrupted when his attention was turned to two older dogs the same breed as him. Both were wearing vests, as an example of what the trainees were in for today. It was required for a K9 to wear a tight and firm vest as source of protection. On the left of Mac stood Gaz, observing what the cat dragged in, and on the right was John, a year older than Gaz.

It wasn't long after a human appeared with a smaller vest in her hand. She walked over to Mac, and he wagged his tail in excitement. She started attaching the vest his upper body. As she finished up, Mac felt a sudden dislike for the 'thing' he was wearing. _W-What the hell is this?! Get it off!_ He whined and latched his teeth to the nearest part of the vest. He pulled at it, in hopes that it'd get off of his body. Though he only ended up falling down to the sun-heated concrete. The other pups looked at Mac with judgement. Gaz enjoyed seeing the youngster struggle. But John didn't find it amusing.

He tilted his head a little, _"How long do you intend to play around, pisspup?"_

Mac growled at that inquiry, _"I'm not... playing!"_

 _"Then what do call this?"_ Mac realized he was still on the ground, and he was lying on his back. It took him a moment, then he answered, improvising while he explained, _"Another way to... scratch your back?..."_

 _"Which is technically lolly gagging,"_ Gaz stated with laugh.

John walked up to Mac, so close that the pup could feel his breath touch his nose, _"You're going to walking around in this all the time. So get used to it."_

Mac felt a shiver down his spine, and he quickly rolled around and got back on all fours. John returned to his place next to Gaz, sighing to himself, _"How'd a muppet like him get in here?"_

 _"Well, you seemed to be just as raw as he was, sir,"_ Gaz said.

 _"I'm pretty sure you were worse."_

 _"Was not!"_

Mac sat down patiently, resisting the urge scratch the shit out of his fur. It was like having fleas again, only he'd rather be in this vest instead of having a bunch of rodents gnaw on his skin. The woman walked across from Mac, and the two older dogs made room for her. She signaled Mac to come over here. With one glance in John's direction, the "pisspup" began walking towards the human. It was an awkward stroll, since the vest was a bit over-sized. But as long as he made the jump, he'd get a reward in return. The human held up a small training treat.

Even at six weeks old, Mac knew what he had to do in order to get one. He sat down, ears perked up and he had his eyes on the prize. "Little ups," she said. Mac slowly rose his two front paws off of the ground. He rose them to his stomach, and the handler lowered the treat to his nose, and he gently accepted the award. With that, he earned a rub on the head. _"You're not done yet, pisspup,"_ John said.

As the weeks stretched into months, Mac seemed to be the only one making progress faster than the other dogs. He aced obstacles, warmed up to the vest. It was only his bark that needed work. It was weak and small. It hurt John's ears to hear that quick little 'yip'. For all he knew, a K9's bark had to be low and intimidating. John, along with the help of Gaz, had helped the pup earn its voice that every dog should have.

* * *

Mac snapped out of that reverie for moment, hearing Roach barking repeatedly. It alarmed him at first, but he saw John sitting in front of the runt. He simmered his heartbeat and relaxed. _It's just lesson_.

John didn't seem too entertained with Roach's effort in his bark, and he finally sighed, _"It's too frail._ "

Roach sighed too, getting a moment to catch his breath. John walked over to him, _"Who taught you how to bark?"_

The smaller dog looked up, _"Well, I didn't really have anyone. I just did it. That's how all dogs do it, right?"_

 _"No. With a bark like that, you won't be able to scare off a cat."_

 _"Any proposals?"_

John looked over at Mac, who seemed to be spotting their little lesson. He wagged his tail once and finally spoke, _"You've heard Mac's."_

 _"Many times,"_ Roach said.

 _"What do you notice?"_

 _"It's really..." What's the word?_ _"It's really... I guess I could say that it's frightening."_

 _"Exactly."_

 _"It sounds a little like yours when you... Wanted the bear to rip your tail off."_

 _"It's because I taught him."_

 _"Taught the bear or Mac?"_

John glared at Roach and spoke wryly, _"Do honestly think bears can bark?"_ Roach looked at him for a moment and quickly changed the subject, _"So, any tips for mine?"_

 _"Use your gut."_

Roach sighed, mentally preparing to shake up the old dog with his super sonic bark. He inhaled. **RUFF!** Roach felt more power in that one than his other ones, but Price didn't move. _"H-How was that?"_

 _"It wasn't bad, "_ John said, and the runt wagged his tail in achievement, _"But that wasn't great either."_ Roach dropped his ears and stopped wagging his tail. Mac huffed in amusement.

 _Oh, Roach. You'll get there someday._

* * *

 **I just saw part of the Black Ops 3 campaign. So bloody and brutal! I'm a little sick now xp**


	8. Soapy Stuff

**Alrighty! Who's ready for a new chapter?**

 **Boopem:** **Yup! Here's Johnny!**

 **Start Princess:** **There will be more chapters to come in the future, and there will be plenty of Roach's pouty-eyed moments.**

* * *

Ghost greedily took a drink of the water coming from his silver bowl. He felt the pressure of his pain pills press against his throat, and he thought it'd be wise to wash it down. After loosening up that small problem, Ghost went to rest off the exhaustion. This week has been the craziest week he's been through. First Royce got chopped (but is making a recovery), then they almost lost Roach to a hungry bear. and they gained a new member. Now today, every dog was recieving a bath to wash out the dirt and stench stuck in their fur. Now when it comes to shampooing, the humans do a crappy job at washing that soap all the way out of their fur. Even with a small bit leftover, that'd cause an uncomfortable, itchy feeling.

Ghost thankfully wasn't gnawing at his fur, unlike Ozone, already biting at it as if he were infested with fleas. As Ghost approached John, who was laying comfortably against the wall, his attention was turned to Roach. He was biting at his fur, but he was smelling it. Now filled with curiosity, Ghost walked over to the big-eared-canine. _"Oi, runt, you alright there?"_ He inquired. Roach huffed softly, but spoke as if he had adrenaline pumping through his blood, _"Ghost, the soapy stuff, it's different!"_

 _"It's different?"_

 _"Different smell! It's not coconut or lavender or... What's that other one they use?"_

 _"Apple?"_

 _"Yeah! This is different it smells-"_ Roach quickly sniffed at his fur, _"Natural."_

 _"Right-"_

 _"Smell my fur!"_

 _"Um. Why?"_

 _"Tell me that it smells different."_

 _"Hell no."_

 _"But Ghost-"_

 _"Your nose is better than mine, runt. I'm sure you can solve this mystery by yourself."_ Roach groaned and continued to sniff deeply at his fur. Ghost finally walked over to John, who had appeared to be listening to their conversation. _"Soapy stuff?"_ John said, tilting his head a little.

 _"He was pounced on when he was pup,"_ Ghost explained, _"So the runt can be a little... Complex."_

 _"I see."_

Ghost seated himself next to John, being mindful to give the old dog some personal space, _"Do you have a minute?"_

 _"I've got more than a minute. What is it?"_

 _"How did you end up in that... Damned winter forest?"_

John raised one ear, but answered truthfully, _"I was the only survivor on one of the operations we were on, and those bastards took me in. What brought this up?"_

 _"Well, I'm just like you."_

 _"You're old and beaten?"_

 _"Half of that, but I'm not old. I was kenneled as well."_

 _"How so?"_

 _"Separation."_

 _"And look at where you got back to."_

 _"Ooh! I got it!"_ Roach popped up, _"It's... It's... Gah! It was at the tip of tongue!"_

Ghost finally sighed and walked over to Roach, smelling his fur and getting a hint of something sweet and, as Roach said, natural.

 _"It's pine."_

* * *

 **Attention all readers! This author does not know how to end a chapter!**

 **Be honest, I didn't have any ideas for this chapter, so while I was typing, I was improvising and I thought, _We need to bring Ghost up in this mix._ Sorry for the chapter being so short and uninteresting. But hopefully it'll get back to the top again. Reviews are appriachiated **


	9. Oh Humans

**KJ:** **I'm happy you like it so far. Here's the next chapter :)**

 **Star Princess:** **Yeah. Short chapters suck, but I'm glad you liked it. And don't worry, there will be a happy Roach in future chapters. :D**

* * *

Roach and John observed the strange sounds coming from Ozone's mouth. He was sitting in front of his handler, who appeared to be communicating with him. Whatever came out of her mouth, Ozone would respond while recieving a comfortable rub on the head. _"Is this something he does normally?"_ John asked.

 _"I guess so,"_ Roach answered, _"I mean, I've heard some dog doing what he was doing, and it all adds up to Ozone."_

 _"So it seems. Didn't know it was allowed for dog to be saying things that sound like he caught his tail in a door."_

 _"It's close enough."_

The human suddenly stopped talking and rose to her feet. Ozone backed up a little, now seeing what her eyes saw. It was her General, seeing as if he were fed up with something, "Sergeant Phillips, would you kindly explain to me what kind of noise your dog was making?"

"Um... We were just... 'talking' with each other, sir," The human answered, a little hesitant.

"Talking? In case you've forgotten, these dogs are meant for combat only. You wouldn't want to ruin their attitude by giving them your kindness? That'd get your entire team in body bags."

Roach felt his gut wrench. He sometimes didn't understand what these humans were saying, but he understood _body bag_. He's seen humans zipped up in those, and they never come out. They worst part was that they weren't giving off any signs that they were alive. "No sir," The woman finally answered.

"Good," The General finally replied, "Now how about you train these mutts to do what their supposed to do. That or I can make you clean the shit out of their kennels."

"Sir, I believe it's my job as a handler to give them their strength."

"Very well then. Do your job."

The General walked off and glanced at Roach and John. Roach wagged his tail, as a sign of respect. But John looked at him straight in those dark eyes and had no other response. The old man walked off, and the handler signaled the two other stray dogs to follow her. John still stood staring in the direction he saw the General walk away in. _"I hate him_ ," He muttered, but not quiet enough for Roach to notice, _"Who? General Shepherd?"_

 _"That's his name?"_

 _"That's what the humans refer him as."_

 _"Hmph."_

Roach didn't know how to respond to that, so he quickly changed up the subject, _"Hey, Ozone. What were you doing anyway with your handler?"_

 _"Speaking her language."_

 _"Really? What were you saying?"_

 _"I dunno. But it sounded like she was saying something like, 'I love you' or something."_

Roach raised his ears in interest and amazement. Only in this case, he was amazed with himself. He's never really brought up a conversation with a dog he doesn't really talk to, it was his own personal achievement. _I've got a voice._

 _Just wait until Mac hear's about this._

* * *

 **Again, another short chapter, but I hope it was enough cuteness for you guys. Hopefully the next one will be a little longer. Reviews are appreciated!**


	10. Monster in the Mirror

**Readers, we just passed 1000 views! Hooray! Let's celebrate with some applejuice!**

* * *

Ghost didn't seem too amused with the job he had to be doing right now. Instead of ripping out flesh and running through paths of bullets, he was here in this small camp of women and children. He thought it was rather safer than being in the war zone, but he wasn't that kind of dog to comfort other humans, especially those that are young. He sat next to his handler, observing the helping hands and paws these filthy humans were recieving. Archer and Ozone seemed to be getting along fine with the women and children. Looking at Roach, he was happy wear he was. He was being stroked gently on the head and back by a woman who looked like she was gravely sick. He licked that woman's hand, and she smiled weakly. Ghost yawned widely, holding back the urge to collapse on his handler's feet.

 _"Hey Ghost!"_ He heard Roach's voice. Ghost looked over, seeing that Roach was trotting up to him. _"Hey, runt,"_ Ghost greeted.

 _"What are you doing here? These people could use your touch."_

 _"Like that's ever gonna happen."_ Ghost had seen himself in the mirror before. He mistaken his figure as another wild animal. But when he moved along with that reflection, that monster in the mirror was him. Bits of his fur was gone, those scars were faded into his skin, and all he craved was the flesh of his enemy. He was different dog than before. _"What are you saying, Ghost?"_ Roach tilted his head.

 _"I'm just saying that... They won't... Like me."_

 _"Why's that?"_

 _"Look at me, Roach. You know me. I'm a monster."_

Roach looked at Ghost with nothing to say, but what he said wasn't true. Ghost had a heart, and with big ears he could hear that heart beating loud and clear. _"Ghost..."_ Roach lowered his head, _"You're not a monster. You're just... A dog... That... Got beaten... And it made him look like this."_

 _"Gee, that helps,"_ Ghost replied wryly.

 _"That's not what I was trying to say. That sorta came out wrong. I'm really saying that, you may look like a demon, but that doesn't mean you have a soul."_

Ghost raised his ears, _"You think I have a soul?"_

 _"I don't think. I know."_

 _"Thanks, runt."_

Roach wagged his tail and nudged Ghost in a playful way. _"But you should really pull your head out of the ground and join us."_

 _"I think I'll stay here."_

Roach lowered his upper body to the ground, as if he were going to pounce on Ghost, _"But they scratch your ears and rub your belly."_

 _"Er... No."_

 _"I know you like them."_

 _"True, but-"_

 _"Ghost..."_ Roach looked at Ghost with those pupil filled eyes, the same technique he used on Mac.

 _"Roach, don't you dare. No! Stop it!"_

 _"C'mon Ghost."_

The older dog grumbled a little. Roach never used that look on him before, but he's used it on Mac a lot of times. Ghost thought he could survive it, but that just made Roach look too cute.

 _"Fine."_

 _"Great! Follow me then!"_

 _"But the handler-"_

 _"He's not even holding onto your harness."_

 _Damn._ Ghost stood on all four paws for a moment before following Roach straight ahead. He looked around, he saw a little boy waddling over to him with this big smile. Ghost's first instinct was to snarl and tell that toddler to back away. _He's not your enemy._ Ghost remained calm. Even as the boy tripped into his fur, Ghost held his ground. The child wrapped his small arms around the dog, and he just stood there in surprise. The boy snuggled his face down into the scruffy fur.

 _"Uh... Roach?"_

 _"Just embrace it, Ghost."_

Ghost stood for a moment. He liked the feeling he was getting, he's never felt it since he was pup; back when he got plenty of attention from his previous human owners. He had a fuzzy memory of that time, but he remembered there was a little girl in that vision. She had a bright smile on her face, and she had treated Ghost with such kindness.

Ghost sighed and licked the small face of the child, _"Okay."_

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait! I had no idea what to do for this one, so I had to improvise again. Hope you enjoyed it though. Reviews are appreciated! :D**


	11. Makar

**The weekend is going by so slow! Perfect time for another short chapter (Only this one's gonna be a little different) I had to do a little research and it was really fun!**

 **KJ:** **Thank you. Ready for some more? :3**

 **aliya hd:** **Really? Thanks :)**

 **Boopem:** **Thanks :D woof**

* * *

With one look in his eyes, those who lived to tell the tail **(** **hehehe)** claim that this Russian hound was an animal born in hell. His scars are written all over his fur, where permanent burns still remain since the day he was bathed in flames. As he grew bigger, he grew more intimidating as well, almost to the point where those humans wanted to let him lose. But what they liked about this dog was that he seemed to be more hungry for victory than the other dogs.

Makar is 37 dog years, and is known to be the largest dog the Russians have. He's also been known to be the most hard-nosed dogs they've ever had. The cause for his callous behavior came in two steps. One, he was bitten by a rabies-infected animal. He fortunately had the virus treated, but the damage from the bite stuck with him. Two, he was burned alive at two years old on a compromised mission. With the harm done to him, he was made the perfect K9 for contact with the enemy. However, sometimes Makar wouldn't kill his victims, he'd just make them suffer.

* * *

It's been about two days since some fresh meat was dragged into the torture chamber. This captive had been crying, screaming, and begging for the soldiers to stop with the painful torture methods given to him. It was music to Makar's ears. However for ally, Tolly, those screams were ear piercing. He could've sworn that he'd almost gone deaf when he heard a faint ringing in his ears. The two dogs stayed chained in the corner of the cold-interrogation room. Makar was the only one who had a dog muzzle over his snout. It was for precautions, and he almost wore it nonstop. Tolly sighed with boredom.

 _"You seem entertained,_ " Makar said sarcastically.

 _"Well, not that this isn't amusing,"_ Tolly began, _"But we barely moved from this spot since..."_ It had been a couple days, and the two dogs stayed in this spot, only to excuse themselves once in while when their handlers came to feed them or take them outside.

 _"Patience. Then we'll be having some fun with this rat."_

 _"When?"_

 _"Soon."_

 _"Like how soon?"_

Makar kept his attention on the investigation happening in the shadows. The captive appeared to be silent and weak, and the two soldiers seemed fed up with something about him. Then after a short discussion, one untied the prisoner, who fell weak to the floor, and the other had unhooked the two dogs from the wall along with removing Makar's dog muzzle. The dogs walked towards the prisoner. Then they heard the command, "Преуспевать; укусить."

 _"Hear that, Tolly?"_ Makar asked.

 _"Sure did_ ," the smaller dog said, _"But after you."_

 _"With pleasure."_

* * *

 **Russian translation: "Go ahead; bite." (Closest command I could get to.)**

 **And...**

 **Tolly=Anatoly**

 **Makar= Makarov ('Makarov' is more of a better name.')**

 **I know this chapter was short and not focussing on the 141, but I'll make up for it on the next chapter. Reviews are appreciated**


	12. Shadow Greeting

**Hey readers! I woke up, it's 3 AM, And I thought,** ** _Der... Imma write a chapter!_ :p**

 **MyDestinyisWithTheWolves** **: Why thank you!**

 **KJ** **: Yeah, the idea of adding Makarov came up out of nowhere one day and I literally did my fan girl scream for a moment just thinking what an awesome idea it would be to have him involved :D**

 **Star Princess:** **I'm honestly trying to make my chapters longer, and I intend on making the story long as well. :3**

* * *

"Hey Roach!" His handler had said in his play voice.

 _Hmm?_ Roach looked up from his slumber, and blinked wearily. His handler was holding some small device in his hands, and he pressed one of the buttons. Shining on the floor was a small dot, and it moved right between Roach's paws. _"And you want me to do what?"_

 _"Roach! Get it!"_ Royce said, barking at the small dot, _"That little thingy is gonna kill everything that lies in its path! Do it before it disappears."_ Royce had made almost a full recovery, and it's been very annoying since he'd walked up out of his little hospital bed. He limps whenever he walks, and it'll be another two weeks until he can walk like a normal dog again. Roach kept his eyes on the dot, but didn't really act. He sniffed at it, or at least tried to. With one sniff touch on his nose, it quickly moved away from him to a smaller distance.

 _"I think we're safe, Royce,"_ Roach said, _"It doesn't seem to be melting anything."_

 _"No we're not!"_ Royce said, fishing in the spot he laid in.

 _"Then why don't you get it?"_

 _"Have you forgotten what that flying machine did to me?"_

The runt flopped his head back down, making himself cozy. He saw that the dot on the ground had disappeared, but didn't blow anything up. His handler walked over and kneeled down to Roach, starting to scratch his ears. _Ah, there we go. That's what I'm talking about._ This nap had turned even better with the comfort he was getting from the human.

 _"Roach! You let it get away!"_ Royce whined.

 _"Why does it matter? No one got hurt,"_ Roach replied.

 _"But-"_

 _"Is the place on fire right now?"_

 _"No?"_

 _"Then shut your trap."_

* * *

For Mac and John, today wasn't their day off. They had been on their paws for almost two hours now, pouncing on their targets and saving their side's lives. With no hostile in sight for the moment, all took a moment to catch their breath. John shook off, _"I'm getting too old for this."_

 _"Heh, you may be old but you still have what it takes,"_ Mac replied.

 _"True... But not for long."_

 _"...Right..."_ Mac didn't want to think about that. It was too soon. Not that he was afraid of death, but he wasn't ready for anyone or himself to go too soon. However, John didn't seem too concerned about crossing over. Even when bringing up a statement or conversation about it, John seems to keep a blank tone in his voice.

From a distance, both dogs heard enemy shouts heading their way. _"It seems they're not gonna run out of waves_ ," John stated, _"It's gonna be another run. Ready?"_

 _"Always."_

 _"That's what I like to hear."_

Though instead of attacking at the large group of hostiles, there appeared to be a change in plans when humans got a notification that exfil wasn't too far from here. So now what? Well, they all ran as fast as they could. _"Race you to the chopper,"_ Mac said. Then they took off. If bullets weren't enough, there was sudden hellfire, raining one mortar every three seconds. _Bloody hell._ Mac had a far distance from his handler, but kept his eyes on him at all time. He nearly yelped as he saw a mortar land not too far from him, and he took off to assist him. _"Mac! Get your arse back here!"_ John called out.

Mac ignored his order and sniffed at his handler. Seeing that he was alive, he latched his teeth on the gear and pulled. His first thought, _Why do humans need to be so heavy?_ Though he wasn't concerned about the weight. He just wanted to get his handler to safety. With a little luck, he saw that the copter above him was shooting out the last wave of enemies, and he had another human take his handler into his protection. Mac trotted his way to John, who stood there with judgement written in his eyes.

 _"What?"_ Mac inquired.

 _"Don't ever run back out there like that,"_ John said, _"If that were to happen again, don't think that you'd get him out of it."_

Mac bit on his teeth, and turned to the chopper, seeing that the general was there. But with one look, he knew that something was off. _Why is he here?_ This has never happened before. Not even once. _What's the occasion?_ As Mac and John observed the scene, they watched as Shepherd had pulled out some sort of small gun-like weapon. Then he pressed it up against the handler, causing him to shake for moment and collapse. Before the other soldier could react, he faced the same consequence.

The dogs stood dead still for a moment, Mac feeling like he couldn't do anything. He saw that other soldiers on their side were being restrained by these strangered men in dark uniforms. Two of those same men approached Mac and John.

But as they gently looped a chain and muzzle over them, Mac resisted and broke out of their grasp, charging full speed ahead filled with rage. Who was he aiming for?

General Shepherd.


	13. Trusted the Enemy

**I wrote this at 3 AM again :p**

 **Guest:** **Thanks! Here's the next chapter**

 **Star Princess:** **Really? Well let's see what happens, shall we?**

* * *

Ghost woke to the sound of the handlers coming into their resting room. He arched his back and stretched out the tension kept in his spine as he yawned. As the light turned on, there were already alarm bells going off in his head. But he wasn't the only one. _"Guys,"_ Roach said, _"These aren't our handlers."_

 _"Yeah, we can all see that,"_ Royce said, still drowned in sleepiness.

 _"Then who are they?"_

Archer wanted to stay positive, trying not to think that something bad happened to their original care-takers, _"Well, maybe they're just filling in for today. Perhaps the handlers are on holiday..."_

As their kennels were opened, Ghost was the only one who didn't step out. He didn't recognize the scent at all, and that meant he wasn't taking orders from these strangers. The human in front of him reached his arm out and looped his fingers around the canine's collar. Ghost snarled and bit down on his hand. The man screamed in pain and shook to get the dog off.

Others rushed into help, and the dogs would've too if they weren't already bound in gear that made them useless in this situation. Roach watched in horror as two of the humans pinned an aggressive Ghost down to the ground. Another had a pulled a needle out from some health kit, and injected serum into the agitated hound. The adrenaline in Ghost slowly disappeared and he now lay motionless on the ground, yet he kept the oxygen.

Roach barked defensively and tried to go near Ghost, but received a firm slap to his head. He whined and ducked a little. His handlers never slapped him like that before at least not that hard. The only times he could think of was when he was pup and all he wanted to do was dig in the yard. " _Ghost, can you hear me?"_ Roach whimpered. The K9 on the floor didn't respond, and remained that way as one of the strangers lifted him off of the ground.

The human carrying Ghost lead the way out of the room, and the others along with the bound up dogs followed out. Roach was reluctant to leave at first. But when the choke chain around his neck tightened, he had to follow along so he wouldn't suffocate. As they got outside, the air was chilly and the sky was dark. They were making their way to a helicopter, bigger than the ones they've flown in before. All Roach could think of at this point was Royce and his fear of being airborne. _What would the humans do to him?_

* * *

It seemed rather short for a chopper ride to their destination. Royce had somehow managed to keep it together. With new handlers and an airtrip, he found it hard to control his feelings. But as all felt the chopper touch down, Royce could finally relax. Roach on the other hand didn't seem too comfortable. Not only because Ghost didn't regain consciousness, but he seemed to be the only one thinking about Mac and John. _Where were they? Are they alive? Are they safe?_

The dogs found themselves being lead through a canyon-like environment. At one point, Ozone spotted his handler. He was excited at first, but when he was pulled away to meet her, his excitement went down. He noticed that his human didn't look to happy, and she was restrained as well.

Under the shade, the dogs had their gear taken off and they were shoved into a large pen with four other dogs (Ghost was just tossed in). Three shared a corner to themselves, and one was isolated in another corner. That one dog was John, looking run down. _"John!"_ Roach was the first to reach the old dog, who looked up and wagged his tail wanly. _"John, are you okay?"_

 _"I could be better,"_ John answered, _"No one got hurt?"_

 _"Well... Ghost, they made him go to sleep somehow and he didn't wake up yet."_

 _"Are you sure he's not dead?"_

 _"Wha-... FYI, he's still breathing! What happened to you? Where's Mac?"_

John lowered his head and closed his eyes, _"They took him, and your general happened to be your enemy all along."_

 _"General Shepherd... Is a traitor?"_

 _"Your entire team is restrained, and they've been tortured nonstop."_

 _"How do you know this?"_

John opened his eyes and raised one ear, _"They're right next to us, pisspup."_

Roach looked over to see that three out of the seven handlers here there, along with two other soldiers they've fought with. One of them was earning a beating from one of the dark-uniformed soldiers. _"Oh..."_ Royce and Archer observed to torture that was going on outside of their pen, and Ghost was slowly coming back into the light. He blinked, and Roach ran over to his side. _"Ghost?"_ Roach spoke. The weak K9 looked up at Roach, _"Roach? What happened?"_

 _"General Shepherd betrayed us."_

 _"He what?! That son of a... Where is he?"_

 _"Calm yourself. You don't want to get another one of those... 'Whatever they gave you'... Things..."_

Ghost brought himself into a sitting position, _"Where are we now?"_

 _"I guess this is the enemy's camp."_

 _"This is brings back memories. Wait, where's Mac?"_

Before Roach could answer, one of the hostiles had shoved in another dog, covered in blood and dirt. This screamed attention to John as well, and he quickly jogged over. The dog stood for moment and looked up. All eyes looked the same to dogs, but the three other dogs recognized them. _"M-Mac?"_ Roach moved closer.

 _"Roach... It's good to see you..."_ His shaky legs couldn't hold him anymore, and he no longer had the strength to stay awake.

* * *

 **Happy Thanksgiving, readers! Reviews are appreciated**


	14. Dog Down

**Wow, this has been an overwhelming week. Glad I found some time to squeeze in a chapter.**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves:** **Thank you! Here's the update :3**

 **Star Princess: Thanks! Shall we continue?**

* * *

 _"Mac!"_ Ghost and Roach exclaimed. Their friend had large cuts covering his body, his fur was coated in a sticky, crimson substance, and there was a slight hint of gunpowder. Roach fortunately didn't get the scent that he was shot, but seeing him like this was hard enough. Even for John's firm heart, he felt as if it was beginning to crack. All three dogs were surrounding the unconscious pooch, who was breathing in short, wheezy breaths.

 _"Mac, can you hear me?"_ Roach whimpered, _"Oh my God..."_

 _"He'll be alright,"_ John spoke, _"He's a hard bastard. But for now, we need to tend to him."_

 _"How?"_ Ghost said, wryly, _"We don't even have those filthy human hands."_

 _"We just need to keep an eye on him. Drag him over here."_

Mac didn't have a collar or harness on, and Roach was stuck there for moment, thinking of another way to move his elder without hurting him even more. Though Ghost seemed to be ahead of him, latching his teeth onto the scruff of his neck and began pulling him. Mac whined a little, and the other dogs now noticed the damage done to their leader. Ghost set Mac down gently in the same spot John was lying in earlier, and Roach crawled in next to him, being cautious of his injuries. _"I'll stay right here,"_ Roach whimpered, _"Just stay alive."_ He'd expected Mac to reply, but he only got a whine.

 _"Ghost,"_ John began, _"I think you're right."_

Ghost glared at John, _"Sorry?"_

 _"We can't keep Mac alive unless we have those hands."_

 _"It's how we all stay alive, basically. We wouldn't have food in bowls if they didn't have that tool."_

 _"And with those injuries, it doesn't seem they're quite survivable. It'll make him grow weak and he won't be able to walk if they're not treated."_

Roach stared at them with his ears perked up, _"What are you guys saying? Mac won't survive?"_

 _"Not like that,"_ John answered.

 _"Then we can keep him alive!"_ Roach moved out of Mac's upper legs, trotting quickly over to the two dogs, _"Ghost, you had injuries like Mac's. How'd you stay together-"_

 _"This is different, Roach,"_ Ghost sighed.

 _"He's onto something, though,"_ John said, raising his ears. Ghost looked at John and flickered his eyes over Roach. _"Okay, I'll tell you this. If we can't get him to walk, we just need him to stay awake. He at least needs to eat and drink."_

Roach wagged his tail a little and he turned over to the other dogs, who were looking at Mac with worried eyes. Roach walked over, hesitant for a moment. But again, these dogs need someone to lead the way. _"Uh, you three,"_ Roach began, and they looked over. _You've done this before. You can do it again._

 _"What's wrong with Mac?"_ Royce questioned.

 _"Yeah, he looks like he rolled around in his own shit,"_ Archer commented.

 _"It's blood,"_ The runt said, _"And I need you guys to try get look after Mac."_

 _"Well, we can do that."_ The three dogs walked next Mac, Ozone making himself comfortable and laying down. _"Stay,"_ Roach said.

 _"Stay? Like... Here?"_ Royce asked, tilting his head slightly.

 _"Yes."_

 _"What if we have to piss-"_

 _"I stay!"_

John wagged his tail. That pisspup reminded him of when Mac was beginning to be bossy to his little puppy companions. He was raw, but determined to lead the way.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :3**


	15. I Dare You

**I'm back readers! School's been rough on me and I'm getting sick, so the cure is to drown in fluffiness! Am I right!?**

 **Nirmalaanandna: Why, thank you! :) **

**Boopem** **: Yeah, poor Mac got toasted up. Fortunately there's an update!**

* * *

After a day or two, Mac had managed to wake up from his painful slumber. Roach was a happy dog, seeing that his leader was up and well. Yet Mac didn't seem to be pleased with the condition he was in. He was still unable to walk, and all he could do was try to eat and maybe take a few laps of water. The captors had given them a chunk of raw meat, twice a day. For those three other anonymous dogs in the far corner( **I've mentioned them before in case you've forgotten** ) they seemed to be getting a little agitated since all of their nutrition is being wasted on that one filthy dog.

 _"Eat, Mac,"_ John said softly.

 _"I don't want to,"_ Mac said, nudging the chunk of beef away with his nose, _"What about you guys?"_

 _"Your health is way important than ours for right now."_

 _"For how long? What have you guys been doing to eat-"_

John looked away as if he were embarrassed to say, and Mac was quick to know, _"Oh God... That's disgusting!"_

 _"You're telling me you've never eaten your own feces?"_ John asked.

 _"Well not anymore."_

 _"It was Roach's idea, and the lad's been working his tail off to get you cared for. He's sort of like you. Do you fancy him as a leader?"_

Mac tilted his head a little and shrugged his ears, _"It's possible."_

Speaking of the runt, all dogs saw Roach run back to them with a chunk of meat in his mouth. _"Hey, I got the rest..."_ He panted.

 _"Roach, what happened to your thigh?"_ Ghost asked, standing up to get a closer look. There were three long marks close together, and they were sewn onto the the thigh of the runt.

 _"I got into a little fight with those dogs, but I'm okay now-"_

 _"Why those shitsticks!"_

 _"Ghost!"_ Roach took off after his superior, staying behind him as Ghost approached the three dogs in the far corner of the pen. _"Oi, mutts!"_ He barked. He had their attention and he continued, _"Did you pounce on him?"_

 _"He's a little rat,"_ 'Dog 1' said, _"And I won't hesitate to kill him next time he tries to cross our path."_ Ghost looked over t Roach, who had his ears lowered, and his tail was tucked in between his legs. _"Touch him again,"_ he said, and Roach looked up in shock.

 _"Uh, Ghost? I really don't want to be touched,"_ Roach whimpered.

 _"Touch him. I dare you."_

The three dogs exchanged looks, and sniggered. 'Dog 2' stepped up to face the beast, and charged. Ghost easily latched his teeth onto the dogs neck and shook him harshly. Everyone, including the humans nearby, saw that Ghost was dropping a dead dog. _"What about you two?"_ Ghost inquired, _"Want to try and pounce on this runt?"_ The two other dogs declined, and Roach looked at Ghost with awe, _"That was amazing!"_

 _"Heh, thank you,"_ Ghost said. He grabbed onto the dead dog and started dragging. _"What are you doing?"_ Roach asked.

 _"I'm fed up with eating my own shit, Roach."_

 _"Your gonna eat that?"_

 _"It's enough meat for everyone."_

All Roach could do was sigh. _Again, that's Ghost for ya._


	16. Nozone

**Happy Saturday, Readers :3**

 **nirmalaanand: Thanks man **

* * *

The other dogs surprisingly ate the catch from Ghost. Royce made several complaints, but managed to join the feast. In the about two days, all that was left was a furry skeleton along with the dog's head, whose eyes were nearly rolled in the back of its head. The two other stray dogs stayed in their corner, muttering insults that were mainly focused on Ghost, saying things like, _"Sadistic cannibal."_ A few of their captors tried retrieving the remains. But even with one foot in, Ghost would come charging at the human coming in, who'd quickly shut the pen before the mutt had a chance to rip him apart. Though the leftovers started to develop a fishy stench in their corner. Roach eventually dragged it far enough so they wouldn't be breathing in that kind of air. Mostly so the flies wouldn't disturb them.

A few days later, one of the human's came back into their cage. Ghost didn't run after this one, but Ozone kept his ears raised and his eyes locked on that person. _Sergeant Phillips._ Ozone didn't exactly know if that was her actual name, but he knew that scent on her skin was a match with his original handler. Her clothes were bloodstained and her body was bruised and scarred. Her wrists had marks from where her restraints were tied, and no doubt she was going to be put in those again. In her right hand, there was a white bag, and she knelt down to the torn up dog body. She began putting the remains into the bag. She was spooked for a moment when she felt Ozone nudging her arm as if he were a cat. But just by looking at him, she couldn't help but smile, and she gave him a gentle scratch on the ears. "Hey! Would you hurry up in there?" The soldier guarding the pen ordered.

"R-Right..." The woman's smile faded and she rubbed Ozone's head, "Stay strong, buddy." She put the rest of the body into the trash bag and Ozone noticed that the pen door was still open. _I could run..._ He thought, _Run, free the humans, and save everyone else._ At the last moment, when his handler was setting the bag aside the outside pen, Ozone charged full speed ahead. The other dogs had their attention glued onto the running K9. But as Ozone lifted his leapt at his target, the soldier quickly acted, drawing his combat knife and slicing it deeply across Ozone's chest.

The canine's adrenaline slowed down, and he laid limp, barely making it outside of the pen. _"Ozone!"_ Roach called, running over to see that Ozone was breathing shallow breaths. Ghost, Archer, and Royce joined in, but John stayed with Mac, who was still unable to walk. Phillips stared in shock, her mouth open and her eyes wide. As she was getting shoved away from the scene, General Shepherd approached the man responsible for wounding Ozone, "Was that necessary, soldier?"

"He came charging at me sir," he explained, "These dogs have been nipping at our heels whenever we try to interact with them."

"Well, that's what they were trained to do. They'll see you as their allies one day, and they'll get used to you. Maybe I should have you sleep with these mutts so you're used to them as well. Would you like that?"

"No sir."

"These dogs stay alive, but everyone else dies in a week."

"Understood."

John sat there, glaring at Shepherd with rage, yet not showing it. With the K9s surrounding the downed dog. The blood came seeping so quickly through the chest, and Roach sensed that it couldn't be survivable. _"Guys..."_ Ozone whined, _"I-It's dark... I can't see a-anything..."_

" _We're right here, mate,"_ Archer said, giving him a reassuring paw.

 _"I-I don't see you guys... W-Where are you...?"_

All Ozone could see darkness for a moment. Then right in front of him, a saw a bright light spreading throughout his vision, getting brighter and brighter by the second. His eyes closed, and remained that way. Sensing the sadness among the group, Mac grunted as he pushed himself up on his paws. _"Mac,"_ John said, standing up as well. Mac ignored his mentor, taking weak and slow steps towards the pack. Ghost looked over, surprised to see Mac standing, but he knew he had to deliver some bad news. _"We lost him, Mac."_

 _"Ozone,"_ The old weakling sighed, and he up his paw on Ozone's upper leg, _"You did a good job... I'm sorry..."_

 _"We're sorry,"_ Roach corrected, placing his paw close to Mac's. Archer and Royce looked at each other, and at the same time put their paws on Ozone's ribs. John and Ghost were gazing down at their teammate in sorrow. _"We could've done something,"_ Ghost murmured, putting his paw closed the the wound. John looked over on the other side of the pen, seeing General Shepherd as eying the mourning going on. John felt his blood boil a little, even attempting to clench his teeth.

 _I'm going to kill that bastard._


	17. Never Surrender

**Hey readers. I've had a** **very** **stressful week of school and whenever I tried drafting this chapter it didn't come out right. I've written about ten attempts for this chapter. I'm sorry if it's uninteresting, but I hope it's enough puppiness for you guys.**

 **Reviews (Since they're all related to Ozone, here's my message to those that reviewed): I know it was sad, but I hope you're ready to read the next update :3**

* * *

For two days, the band of brothers remained inactive and weary. Ozone's body was removed from the pen and no dog knows what they did with it. John stayed close to the entrance of the pen, keeping a lookout for his target. For Mac, he's grown weaker. He could barely concentrate on his surroundings anymore. His wounds dried, but one of them became infected, causing his condition to worsen. Roach, who had been wanting to keep his elder alive, was slowly losing hope that his friend wouldn't make it. He's been huddled up to Mac staying silent and still. In his mouth, he's been holding Ozone's tags, which he yanked off before his body was taken away.

Ghost had been the guard dog. Everyone of his allies had this depressing expression written in their eyes. It looked as if they were going to give up so easily; surrender to the enemy or die. Ghost hated giving up. But when you don't have the same advantages as a human, there's really nothing you can do when your life is behind an iron fence. Ghost looked over at John, and he hasn't moved an inch since the other day. He walked over to John.

 _"Hey, old dog,"_ Ghost greeted. John glared at Ghost and sighed, _"Hello, mutt..."_

 _"You've been sitting there for... a while. What's going on?"_

John looked over at Mac. He was still asleep and he hadn't touched his chunk of beef. Roach didn't move an inch, and he had his pupils filled in. That was just a trick to convince others, but in this case, Roach was expressing sadness. John lowered his ears a little, _"I'll kill him."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Shepherd. He's the reason we're in this cage."_

 _"Didn't know you had a spot for revenge."_

 _"Everyone does. I'm sure you do too."_

 _"I used to."_

John closed his eyes, _"But again, we can't do much when we're in a cage. I've tried digging, but the ground is too firm."_

Roach looked up, overhearing (Or really eavesdropping) on the words being said from a small distance. At that moment, he felt a little confident. _Digging could work if dug harder._ Roach slipped out from Mac's warmth and went to the went along the far edge of the pen. He sniffed and pawed at the dirt. Then with his sharp paws, he greedily breaking up the earth. But John sure was right. The ground was almost as hard as a rock, but it wasn't hard enough to be torn apart.

Bits of hard dirt flew from the ground, and he felt his long nails grate against the firm part John was talking about. He kept pawing at the dirt, and he got a little luck when he got further into the ground. _"Roach,"_ Archer walked over to the runt and observed the work he was doing. Roach looked at Archer, seeing him get closer. _"You've got a good plan here,"_ Archer continued, _"But you won't get that far with two paws."_ Archer started digging his paws into the ground as well, and he received a tail-wag from Roach.

 _"Is Royce keeping an eye on Mac?"_ The runt asked.

 _"He is. Oh, and Roach? Good job."_

Roach raised one of ears, _"Good job?"_

 _"I know it's not something I won't say to you. But in this case, you've earned it."_

 _"H-How so?"_

 _"Since Mac was down, you've taken the role of being our leader. I'll admit, eating shit wasn't the best idea, but it kept us alive."_

Roach's mood slipped a little, _"Not everyone..."_

 _"It's not anyone's fault for Ozone's death. It's not even his own fault. He was just doing his job as a K9; protecting his allies."_

 _"I...I don't know what to say."_

 _"Well, I'll just say that you've played a good leader."_

Roach was a bit taken back. It was a little out of character for Archer to say thoughtful comments, and did he actually mean it?

 _Aw, screw it._

 _I did be a pretty good leader._

 _I guess..._

* * *

 **Hey readers. I've been feeling a little uneasy lately, and I just haven't been in the mood to write as well. I am definitely NOT intending on discontinuing the story. But it might be another while until the next update. Please be patient and I'll try to update when I can. Thank you for reading :3**


	18. Let's Do This

**MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves:** **Aw, thank you ;)**

 **Boopem:** **Yes, there will be some throat ripping at some point. :3**

* * *

As the sun went behind the Earth, the hole Archer and Roach had dug under the fence was wide enough for someone to squeeze through. All enemies that were outside were elsewhere and the tortured captives were still in the same place they were since the betrayal. _"Roach, you go,"_ Ghost said, _"You're the smallest."_

 _"Well, duh,"_ Roach stated, _"But here it goes-"_

 _"Wait. Come here,"_ John said. Roach obeyed, _"Okay, John- Ow! John, what're you-!"_ The runt yelped and whined as the old dog pulled off his collar through his head. _"Shut it!"_ John ordered, finally getting it off. _"And your plan is,"_ Royce questioned.

John dropped the collar and his eyes darted over to the two sleeping dogs, and "idea bells" started going off in his head. _"Ghost, see if you can get one of them to wake up,"_ he said.

 _"On it,"_ Ghost replied, walking over to that corner. Roach shook off the pain in his ears, _"But really, what was that for? What's going on?"_

 _"We're going to have one of those mutts be your understudy."_

 _"Ah... Good plan."_

 _"Now off you go. See if you can unleash one of your humans."_

 _"You got it."_ Roach slipped under the fence without a problem and trotted quietly into the darkness. _"Let's hope he doesn't screw anything up,"_ Royce murmured, just as Ghost came back with both sleepy dogs instead of one. _"I told you to get one, Ghost,"_ John sighed.

 _"They're inseparable brothers, apparently,"_ Ghost explained.

 _"And what do you cannibals want?"_ One of them asked. Judging by the accent, this dog came from Britain just by sensing that cocky and Scottish tone.

 _"We just need one of you to be another dog. Who are you both?"_

 _"He's Marco and I'm Jesper, and is this a tactic you're using to-"_

 _"No,"_ Ghost said, _"We're not planning to eat you both."_

 _"We're not?"_ Archer asked, and Ghost nipped at him to hush him up.

John took one good look at these filthy dogs, but was quickly interupted by Roach coming back into the pen. _"What happened, were you caught?"_

 _"No. I forgot these,"_ Roach scooped Ozone's dog tags into his mouth, _"Carry on."_

Roach went back outside, and John turned his attention back to Marco and Jesper. _"Okay, Marco,"_ John said, _"You're small enough, come here."_

Marco stepped towards John as John pushed Roach's collar over with his paw, _"Try this one for size."_ Marco remained silent, and Ghost flicked an ear up, _"He can understand us, right?"_

 _"He can understand you, he just can't talk."_

 _"Why's that?"_

 _"His tongue was cut out by those two-legged creatures."_

 _"Humans?"_

 _"If that's what you call them. But they chopped half of Marco's tongue and he hasn't been able to talk ever since."_ Marco yawned to prove his point, and Royce sneezed in disgust. _"Okay... Anyway, same thing. See if you can slip into this."_ Marco sniffed at the collar and scooped his nose through it and up through his head. He got into a laying down position, making it easier to pull the collar down to his neck.

 _"You take it from here, Ghost,"_ John whispered.

 _"Huh?"_ Ghost asked.

 _"You know the lad better than me."_

 _"Oh right,"_ Ghost cleared his throat and directed Marco, _"Alright, mutt. Now lay down next to that dog over there."_ Marco raised his ears and let out a muffled sound that sounded like he was saying, _"What?!"_

 _"You're a new dog now. You're cute, you're loyal, you're caring-"_

 _"Marco ain't like that,"_ Jesper said.

" _Yeah, well that's what our runt is like."_

* * *

It took Roach a while, but when he finally found Sergeant Phillips, it brought relief to see that she was still breathing. She was slightly pale and she was left to rest out in the cold night along with another captive who was three feet away from her. Roach nudged Phillips with the soft top of his head. Startled, she woke up and was alarmed by what she saw at first. "O-Ozone?" She said, still half asleep.

 _"Um... No...?"_ Roach said, dropping the tags at her feet and licking her to reassure that he wasn't the enemy. Phillips saw the tear in Roach's ear, and recognized the K9 in front of her, "Roach? How'd you get out-" She was interrupted by the runt tugging at the bindings behind her back. After tugging hard at the thin rag holding her wrists together, it finally broke apart. Phillips rubbed her wrists and couldn't help but smile at her animal friend, speechless of what to say. She saw the tags and picked them up. Roach saw the way her fist clenched around them. Phillips finally got up, but nearly fell back down. She gripped her abdomen as she leaned against the rock wall. Roach looked at her with worries as she pushed off the wall and got back into a standing position.

She walked over to the captive next to her and gently shook him. But he wasn't responding at all, and Roach couldn't sense any signs that he was alive. He whimpered and Phillips sighed in pain, "Shit... It's just you and me for now..." She grasped her stomach again, continuing, "But... Egh... I don't think I can fight like this-..."

Roach didn't understand her, but he knew Phillips was in pain, which meant he was the only source of light she had in the meantime. He had to fight and protect her, and that is what he shall do. He looked at her, his ears perked up, awaiting a command. Phillips looked down, using Roach for support for only a second. He even nudged her hand to get her attention. "Workin' on it," she said. Even at this height, Roach could see the things Phillips was eyeing right now. There were a few patrol guards on duty, but they didn't seem to notice anything yet. "Okay," Phillips finally whispered, "Heel."

Roach saw that the woman was taking small and slow steps, a sign that he too had to be stealthy as well. But hidden behind his calmness, the runt had a burst of energy pumping through his blood, but it was with excitement. _We're doing fine so far._

 _Maybe. Just maybe._

 _We could get our paws on Shepherd._

* * *

 **Hey readers. Sorry for a short chapter. I was going through those moody teenage moments and my writing gets a bit off when I'm feeling very moody. Guess it's the weather. It has been snowing down here, and it's no fun. Well, hopefully the next chapter will be interesting :p**


	19. Sneaking in the Shadows

**Soooo... I lied. This will be yet another uninteresting chapter.**

 **the nerfanator:** **Oh! Well I'm glad you're not leaving XD**

* * *

 _"So you ate your own shit for a week?"_ Jesper snickered, _"For a bunch of intimidating dogs, I thought you would've matured by now."_

 _"It wasn't our idea,"_ Ghost said.

 _"Let me guess. It was 'Roach's'?"_

 _"Pretty much."_

 _"You've said his name like a thousand times. What's so special about that mutt?"_

 _"Well, he's our responsibility most of the time since he tends to get tangled in the spider's web. So we stay in a pack."_

 _"How'd he get into your unit then?"_

 _"He may be a little shabby, but he's smart."_

Ghost was suddenly interrupted by noises coming from outside the pen. He saw a light as well, coming closer to the wired cage. Faster than sound, Ghost sped over to the hole under the fence and laid over it. Two men shined their flashlights at the dogs, who in the illumination looked like "deer in the headlights".

"They seem to be calm now," One of them said.

"That's weird. I don't know what could've gotten them all riled up," The lights shined away from their faces as the dark-uniformed men walked back into the shadows.

 _"Hope Roach didn't get spotted by those bastards,"_ John murmured. Ghost looked at the old dog. Though he was confident that Roach would be alright, he still worried for the K9. _What if something already happened to him? What if he's already dead?_ Ghost closed his eyes and growled silently to himself. Finally he got up and crawled to the other side of the fence. _"G-Ghost,"_ Royce said, _"What're you doing?"_

 _"I'm gonna find Roach,"_ Ghost said, _"We shouldn't have let him go on his own."_

 _"I'll come then."_

 _"No, Royce. Stay here."_

* * *

Roach and Phillips had wandered in the shadows. Roach didn't quite know where what the plan was, but the handler seemed to know what she was doing. As they approached the end of the shadows, they saw a guard standing still and having his weapon lowered. There seemed to be no other patrol around him, which was a good sign that no one was coming for now. Phillips laid her hand on the only dog she had for now, "Roach, _aanval."_ Roach raised his ears and quickly stanced himself for attack. The fur on his back was slightly raised, and Phillips pushed him off as the runt sprung onto his target, for once getting a taste of human flesh in while. The sergeant quickly walked over and dragged the soldier into the dark cover.

From his body, Phillips took a tactical blade and a radio. Along with that, she had taken the soldier's Silenced SCAR-H along with his M9. She strapped the holster around her waist before grasping her stomach again, moaning once in pain. Roach stood by Phillips as she took a knee, placing her hand on the K9's back. "I'm gonna be depending on you," She whispered to Roach. She slung the SCAR-H around her shoulder before moving forwards to the next shadowed area.

Though as Roach followed behind, he quickly stopped and perked his ears up again. Sensing something from behind. He swung around, seeing a pair of glowing eyes. He was relieved that it wasn't a bear this time, but he still couldn't trust it. Phillips turned around too, frightened by the sight, and she aimed her weapon at the creature in the shadows, pulling Roach back by his scruff at the same time. Roach nipped and snarled at the thing, in hopes that it'd be frightened.

But it wasn't taken back, it instead spoke in light, yet slang-ish tone, _"Easy, собачонка. We're on your side."_

* * *

 **Any guesses on who this mysterious character could be. It's pretty obvious, right?**


	20. Backup

Roach blinked, breaking from Phillips' grasp and cautiously taking a step-froward. _Then s_ tepping from the shadows, was a black-furred Belgian Malinois. Though instead of that brown eye-color most dogs have, only one appeared to have a bright shade of blue added to one eye. He had a bite mark torn in one of his ears as well. _"You didn't come from that pen,"_ Roach commented, _"How'd you get here?"_

 _"We were deployed,"_ The dog answered.

 _"Deploy-... So you're from another unit? Where's the rest of your pack then?"_

"Yuri!" A sharp voice whispered from behind the short-haired dog, and a uniformed soldier appeared and tugged him back a bit. Though this soldier wasn't the enemy. He had a different scent on his clothes unlike the other enemies. Phillips lowered her weapon, seeing that these guys didn't mean any harm. Though her shaky arms had caused her to drop the weapon and lean against the rock wall. Due to the pain she's been through, she's met her limit and couldn't carry her own strength anymore. The other uniformed soldier rushed to her side, and Roach watched and listened to their foreign conversation. _"Seems like you guys have been through a lot,"_ The dog said.

 _"Yuri, am I correct?"_ Roach questioned.

 _"You are."_

 _"Well, thanks for... Not attacking on sight."_

 _"I was going to take out that target laying back there. But when we saw you and your handler get him first, it was a good reminder that you weren't one of them."_

 _"Oh! Uh... She's not my handler."_

 _"She's not?"_ Yuri raised both ears and blinked rapidly twice, _"And come to think of it. Who are you?"_

Roach looked directly at Yuri, missing the question asked.

 _"We can't be allies unless we know each other,"_ The blue-eyed dog said.

 _"Oh! Right. It's Roach."_

 _"Roach?"_

 _"Yup!"_

 _"Okay... It must be really embarrassing for your handler to call you that."_

 _"Well, I guess we're friends then."_

 _"No. Just allies."_

Roach raised his ears. After a quiet conversation between the humans, Phillips laid down her weapons and sat down. _"How good are you?"_ Yuri asked.

 _"Pretty well. I've got a good scent."_

 _"Then I suppose you can help us sniff out your other humans?"_

 _"That's why you're here?"_

 _"There isn't time for more questions, can you help or not?"_ Roach took a look at Phillips. She can't fight, and she'll have sit here and cope through her pain alone.

 _"I-I can't... Leave her on her own-"_

 _"We have reinforcements on our way, and she'll be tended to."_ From a distance, shots were fired and shouts were echoing from the tunnels. _"Are those the reinforcements?"_

 _"They weren't coming from that direction."_

 _Then who's causing the racket?_

* * *

Ghost got behind cover as he felt bullets brush past his fur. This wasn't exactly the plan he had in mind. All he had to do was find Roach, yet he didn't find the runt anywhere, and now he's got himself in this situation. Though he had managed to get two or three throats ripped out, he wasn't out of the woods. But on the bright side, he found the other 141 captives. _Dammit, Roach. Where are you?_ As he kept a low profile, the gunshots died down for a split second. He saw a shadow of his enemy creeping closer. He growled a little, but it probably wasn't the best idea he had. _"Ghost!"_

Then landing on top of the soldier close to Ghost, was that familiar, small dog that had lead his unit. Roach had done something right by finishing off his prey, and leading his small pack of humans to the enemy. Ghost laid dumbfounded for a moment. _Where did these guys come from?_

He peeked over to see Roach shaking off the blood in his fur. The runt looked over and joked, _"Saved your life."_

 _"Very funny,"_ Ghost was not amused, _"But what the hell is going on?"_

 _"Long story, sorta. How'd you get all the way out here?"_

 _"Went looking for you."_

 _"Did anyone else come along?"_

 _"Royce tried, but got stuck under the fence. I think he's fine now."_

 _"Roach,"_ A black-furred dog trotted over to Roach after the phenomenon, _"We're not done here."_

 _"Who's this?"_

 _"Oh, Ghost, this is Yuri,"_ Roach introduced, " _Yuri, this is Ghost. You can actually thank him for leading us to everyone else."_

 _"In a dangerous way, but he'll be useful. Are you feeling strong enough?"_

 _"All the time."_

 _"Good. Let's go then."_

 _"Wait!"_ Roach paused, and looked back at the dark area he came from, _"We need **our** backup." _Roach barked loudly until he got everyone's attention, before running back into the short-length tunnel. Some 141 captives and the friendlies followed Roach including Ghost. Yuri stayed in his position, deciding to run ahead into the face of danger. As the small pack followed the runt, he had led them to the pen.

John heard Roach's barking and saw that he wasn't on his own. His first thought was that he's being chased, but when he saw that those humans weren't opening fire on him, he had a reason not to bark defensively. Ghost and Roach went up to the opening of the gate as John commented, _"I heard gunfire. What happened?"_

 _"Heh heh, that was the works of this dog right here,"_ Roach said.

One of their humans came along and unlocked the gate. _"Finally! Can't wait to get out of this hellhole,"_ Jesper said, and he was the first one coming out of the pen. Royce, Ozone and Marco followed him out as well. _"John,"_ Roach began, _"Who's wearing my collar exactly?"_

 _"Marco is, but he was a good understudy at least,"_ John said.

Roach barked at one of the humans and entered the pen, directing him to Mac, who was still asleep and limp. The 141 prisoner looked at Mac and rubbed his head before lifting him off the ground. _"He'll be alright now,"_ John said, _"But there's still work to do."_

 _"Let's get the job done, then."_

Roach's handler called for them both, and they followed them onto the battlefield, meeting their old friend; danger. Though as they got close to their targets, John changed directions and went into a different tunnel. _"J-John! They're this way!"_ Roach called out.

 _"I'm not after those yanks!"_ John called, and the runt and Ghost exchanged looks before the bigger dog went after the old one. Ghost knew who John was aiming for. But he wasn't going to take care of his target alone.

* * *

 ***Gasp* What's this? Two updates in a day? Since the holidays are were/are among us, I wanted to bring you readers a present, and that'd be these two updates. Right after I posted the previous chapter, I felt like I knew what to do for this one, and I wanted to bring it to you guys before another week-long wait. But thanks for reading and enjoy your holidays! :D**


	21. Tying Loose Ends

_"John! I know this may be a bad time to ask,"_ Ghost yelled over the sound of gunfire, _"But what's your plan here?"_

 _"It's really, bloody simple!"_ John explained, _"We find Shepherd and kill him! The bastard's not leaving here alive."_

The old dog sharply turned left and hid behind some cover to avoid contact with the hostiles ahead. Ghost did the same, holding back the urge to lunge out and find the enemy's weak spot. He stayed low as he and John waited for their moment to move forward. Soon the commands and shouts from the enemy faded, leaving John to sniff out his target. _"Do you even know where he is?"_ Ghost asked.

 _"I've been tracking his scent since I got here,"_ The old dog said, _"Even his blade had pierced Mac."_

 _"Why him?"_

 _"He is your general, am I wrong?"_

 _"General of the 141."_

 _"Same thing."_

 _"And your goal is..."_

 _"No soldier can act without his orders."_

Ghost looked at John with a blank expression in his eyes, not really sure what he meant, but John did. The dogs came approached a door, and the old K9 pawed at it. _"This is our stop."_

 _"Great... How do we get in?"_

 _O_ _h... Shit... "Hang on... I'm tracking his scent elsewhere... Wait here. He may still be in there."_

 _"I'll be ready."_

John took off ahead, following the scent deeper into the tunnels. It was long way down, and no enemies were in his sight. He found it a bit odd at first, but again, all could be fighting the chaos back there. Shepherd's scent lead into a room full of guns and ammunition. Sitting on one of counters was the general's .44 Magnum. _The gun's here, where are you?_ Even without having a chance to turn around, he suddenly felt a swift kick to the ribs. John yelped and fell to the ground. Shepherd stepped over and began loading his mag, one bullet at a time. As he loaded one mag, he began talking, directly to the downed K9 or... Honestly, John was beginning to think that Shepherd was going a little crazy. "Five years ago," He began, "I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye, and the world just fuckin' watched."

John just stared at Shepherd. He partly understood what this guy said. Losing that many soldiers (or friends)... Just hurts, even though he's never felt that kind of pain of watching everyone around him die. With the K9 still downed, Shepherd placed one hand firmly on John's neck and his knee on the dog's hip, preventing any movement. With the other hand, he pointed the tip of the Magnum at John's 'stop'.

Before John could see the world Ozone was in, his death sentence was suddenly interrupted by a rumbles shaking the entire place. It even distracted Shepherd for a short moment before meeting heads with the scar-covered-Ghost. John leapt to his feet, and Ghost honestly tried going for his throat. But Shepherd had his hands pressed up against Ghost to prevent that from happening. With a tight amount of space in the room, John couldn't do much to help his friend out. _"Ghost, let him go!"_

 _"What-"_

 _"Do it! Lead him out here!"_

Ghost did so, and Shepherd struggled to get up on his feet. John and him exited the armory, and stayed off to the side. _"On my go,"_ John whispered, getting low and ready jump. Ghost did the same, snarling silently as he and the old dog waited for their moment. Shepherd stepped out, still startled by Ghost's appearance. John still remained silent, until both his and Ghost's ears raised at a piece of stone falling off from the ceiling, and the rumbling continued. _"That doesn't look good,"_ Ghost commented, a little worried.

Along with that, they heard barking echoing in the tunnel they came through. Those deep yips were familiar mostly to Ghost's ears, but John didn't like the sound of it. Then, running into the light was their runt, not expecting to see Shepherd aiming his gun at him and squeezing the trigger. Roach stood frozen, seeing a small trail of smoke aiming towards him, yet he didn't feel any pain. His cries were taken from him, instead coming from the mouth of John, who had taken the bullet for him. The old dog was fortunately hit in a nonlethal spot of his shoulder. But God, did it hurt!

John went down again, not able to stand anymore. Ghost finally lunged out, grabbing hold of Shepherd's shooting arm. He growled and screamed in pain, trying to get the latched K9 off of him. _"Roach!"_ Ghost spoke, partly muffled, _"Now's your chance! Kill him!"_

Roach stood there, tail tucked in between his legs. He had his eyes focused on two things. There was a grey-hair shepherd laying bleeding at his feet, and then there was that Shepherd, who had given orders to harm his friends. He shot his own kind, and it felt like he couldn't really do anything at this point. His paws quivered, and he didn't know what to do. Shepherd finally threw Ghost into the wall next to him. With all three dogs still in their place, he grasped his bleeding arm. Ghost was stunned, barely able to focus on his target. John looked at Roach. _Why isn't he doing anything? What's wrong with him?_

Then he saw his body language. His ears were back, tail curled between legs, and he was nearly in a sitting position. He was in shock of what he was witnessing. _"Roach, c'mon lad,"_ John whined against the pain in his shoulder, _"Don't let it get to you that easily..."_ Roach glanced at John, shaking still. _"Don't give up on us, runt..."_

Roach's eyes nearly widened. _Am I giving up?_ He loosened the tension in his body a bit, now eying Shepherd. His muscles were too weak to attack him at this moment. Though seeing the condition that this place was in, he knew he didn't have enough time. Almost everything was falling apart, and Lord knows what's causing it. _Do it, you fool! It's what you've... Trained for._ Roach's ears were raised, having quick moments of his training sessions. The main key was just to get angry and vicious. But he's struggled at doing it because he never thought he'd be living his life taking living souls. He never thought he'd be in this position right now.

But being vicious was something he needed to do everyday.

Right now.

Roach finally snarled, showing his teeth and letting foamy saliva ooze from his mouth. His front paws stood firmly, and he was suddenly very still. He wasn't shaking anymore, and this caught Shepherd's attention. Finally, taking this opportune moment, Roach lunged forward, barking loudly once and aiming his mouth towards the general's throat. Shepherd pointed and pulled the trigger, but saw that nothing came out. He could do nothing but feel as the runt's teeth sunk deeply into his throat.

Deeper and deeper, **(Dats what she said-)** and he could no longer feel reality touch his finger tips. Roach ripped the blood and flesh out of Shepherd's throat, and John laid there satisfied, sighing, _"That's my, pisspup."_

Roach panted heavily and shook off. Ghost finally stood up, getting his sight back in order. Then they heard voices coming into the tunnel. Roach and Ghost stood in front of John, ready to defend him. "Roach! Ghost!" The voices shouted, and the two standing dogs lowered their guard as they saw two handlers and another one of those 'non-hostile' soldiers step from the shadows. The uniformed man examined John, who tried desperately to stand up, yet failed. He was taken into his arms as the rocky fortress shook violently this time. "Shit... We've gotta move!" More stones broke from the walls and ceilings, a sign that this place was going to fall apart.

They humans lead the way back to where they should've been before, seeing that most of their enemies were deceased or wounded. They had lead the dogs to a cliff, where waiting ahead was a copter that had been waiting for them. Even from this distance, Roach could see Mac, half awake and eying fearfully at his two comrades. Ghost suddenly yelped, feeling pain was a piece of rock landed and bounced off his hip. _"Ghost!"_ Roach heard the cry from Ghost and ran along side the half-limping dog. They got closer and closer to the copter, and saw that the humans were jumping on. The own carrying John nearly fell over due to the weight he was carrying.

Seeing that they had to jump, Roach did so, making it on. Ghost leapt, yet only managed to get half of his body on, while the other half dangled outside. He began slipping, and he nearly had his elbows overboard until Roach reached and latched onto his collar, _"I've got you, Ghost!"_ Along with some human help, both got Ghost back onto safety. Before the hatch door slid closed, Roach caught a glance of what was causing the entire place to fall apart. There were other choppers, firing missiles at the fortress they were held hostage in. Ghost sighed, sitting down, _"Damn..."_

Roach looked around the chopper, seeing that Yuri, Archer, Royce and Marco made it out okay as well. Obvious Jesper was... Elsewhere, and Marco didn't seem too pleased about it. Roach looked over and saw an open spot next to Mac, who wagged his tail at the sight of seeing that everyone was okay. The runt laid next to his elder dog. _"Are you alright?"_ Mac nudged Roach a little.

 _"Y-Yeah,"_ Roach answered, _"I'm just glad the worst is behind us."_

 _"Hmph."_ Mac rested his head on top of the runt's, _"For now, Roach. For now."_


	22. Home Sweet Home

**Hey readers. I'm gonna try to post something before the new year, and if I do. Hooray! Any ways, here ya go.**

* * *

As the chopper touched down, Roach sniffed out a new scent in the air. They weren't in Afghanistan anymore. The hatch slowly swung open, and all saw that the base they were dropped off at wasn't really much. It was just a large, concrete building with a small village filled with civillians. _"Pretty stupid to set up a safe house here,"_ Ghost muttered.

 _"What?"_ Yuri asked, following him off the chopper.

" _Why is a camp here when there's unskilled men beside it?"_

 _"Hmph. Good question... I don't know. I guess they're survivors considering I that I saw them loading off looking like hell."_

 _"Did you have to give them some 'puppy love'?"_

 _"Uh... No...?"_

 _"Great."_

 _"Well, this isn't the best place to live, but it's home. Welcome to the Loyalists."_

Yuri trotted off, running off to do things that dogs do. Roach walked beside Ghost, being lead inside the safe house by some other person. _"Glad that's over,"_ Roach said, a little bummed out.

 _"You don't seem too relieved,"_ Ghost commented.

 _"I'm thinking about what happened earlier. Was it a mistake to come for you guys?"_

 _"Um..."_ Ghost had recalled that moment. When Roach came out of nowhere, and nearly had his life taken by Shepherd's bullet. It was instead meant for John, who jumped and took the pain himself. Then Roach stood there, unresponsive and shaky.

 _"You don't have to worry about that anymore,"_ Ghost said, _"That's behind us."_

 _"But-"_

 _"It's no ones' fault, Roach."_

Roach lowered his ears and tail, still a bit ashamed. They were lead into a court yard, where there were puppies, less than two months, running about and following their elders. Some pups were just beginning to walk, yet were kept in their own small pen under human supervision. Ghost, Roach, Royce, and Archer were put lead into a corner and given some food and water for their own. Mixed in with the dry dog food was some raw meat for extra protein.

The dogs ate like they haven't been fed in months, but somehow remained calm while refueling their empty stomachs. Roach looked up and around once. Still getting used to his surroundings.

 _Well this is "home"._

* * *

 *** Three hours later***

From where Ghost stood, he saw sergeant Phillips, sitting on a bench and eying a small object in her hand. They belonged to an old friend of hers, one that she's had for quite a while. Ghost had sensed that they were Ozone's, and he whimpered as he stood up.

Even though it was mostly Phillips who was feeling depression drowning her heart, the K9 too had the sadness as well. Not that he had anything to be sad about, but it was the handler that made his tail stop wagging. He trotted over to her, quickly setting his head on her leg.

Phillips and Ghost looked at each other with wanly eyes. But the woman rubbed the dog's head and grinned a little. She set the dog tags in her pocket and kneeled down to wrap her arms around the scarred dog. Ghost rested her head on her shoulder, getting deeper into her emotions. She had felt somewhat better, but kept carrying a sorrowful behavior. "You're a good dog," She said, giving Ghost a gentle squeeze, "You know that?"

Ghost raised his ears and wagged his tail. _Good dog._ No one hasn't called him that in forever. He readjusted his head, but remained in the hug until Phillips was ready to let go.

* * *

 **So yeah... This was a short chapter, but at least all is safe and sound.**

 **For now. :3**

 **Anyways, I don't mean to act so... "Thirsty" (I guess that's the word I'm looking for)... But it'd be appreciated if you readers could leave a review. There haven't been that many since the double update and I'm sort of wondering if I'm doing something wrong. AM I?!**


	23. Get Up

**Boopem** **: Yes. There have been a lot of updates and puppies. :3**

 **Guest** **: Oh! Thank God :p**

* * *

The treatment given to Mac and John were made them back into their stable conditions. Though while the grey-haired K9 was able to walk, Mac still had not yet made a full recovery. He still laid in the infirmary that was actually meant for humans, though medics knew what had to be done to make the dog's heart keep on beating. Stitches and bandages covered almost every inch of his flog and scratch marks. To prevent him from tearing up the stitches, Mac was put into a cone. He didn't like it, but he was too exhausted to care anyway.

For John, the bullet he received earlier took hours to get out. It was stuck in a hard spot of his shoulder, almost impossible to get out at first. After nearly three hours of a small surgery, the small piece of ammo was taken out, preventing any disturbances John's body. Though he could walk, he found it difficult to lean his head down if he were to sniff something or take a drink of water. The hard times were over, but new ones would be beginning.

* * *

Nearly a week had passed since the chaos, and Roach was the only inactive K9 around. He laid in the dark and cold corner of the courtyard, just having this depressive tone written in his bones and eyes. All he wanted to do was see Mac, relive those moments to be curled up next to him and race for a tennis ball when it comes to competing with that leader. Roach curled his body up a bit more, almost like he were hugging himself. He eyed Royce in one of the pens with the pups, being a teacher to the small, shaky-legged pups. Archer was with Ghost, and they were yet again going at each other. John was taking it easy, watching the ruckus go throughout the courtyard.

Roach was nearly about to fall into a nap, until the shadow above him got darker. He looked up, seeing the black-furred K9. _"Yuri,"_ Roach sat up, _"Hi."_

 _"It's not healthy for a dog to lay around all the time,"_ Yuri commented, _"Especially for a runt."_

Roach raised his ears and sat up, _"What're you implying?"_

 _"Get up. Run around. Do something to keep your energy raised. You'll weaken if you just lay there all day."_

 _"R-Right..."_

Yuri tilted his head, _"You're still in shock, aren't you?"_

 _"Who says I'm in shock?"_

 _"John told me about the little encounter with your traitor last week."_

 _"O-Oh..."_

 _"What happened there?"_

Roach ducked his head and lowered his ears, _"John's right. I was in shock, but I honestly don't know what happened there. It just felt like I couldn't do anything."_

Yuri swallowed and closed his eyes, _"I've been there... Many times. It mostly occurred when I was like one of those little rodents over there."_ He directed his attention to the pups in the pen, whining in jealously at the strides Royce is showing them. Roach slightly raised his ears, but then lowered them again, _"Even now I still feel like I can't do anything..."_

 _"That's why you've got to get up, мой друг,"_ Yuri continued, " _You can do that, can you?"_

 _"Y-Yeah."_

 _"Then do it. I can make you fight better, so you'll never have to freeze up like that."_

 _"You'd do that?"_

 _"Sure. That's mostly why I came over here."_

* * *

 **Oh yeah. And happy new year to you readers :)**


	24. Friends

**nirmalaanadna** : **Did I forget to reply? I'm sorry! :( Anyways, I'm glad you think it's awesome.**

* * *

 _"Are you sure we should be going this far?"_ Roach had looked around, seeing that they were walking down a hill, far from the safe house. _"I've done it many times,"_ Yuri said, _"But I'll get 'shocked' if I go any further."_

 _"'Shocked'?"_

Yuri stopped and raised his head, letting Roach see that his collar wasn't like his, _"Shock collar."_

 _"Ah."_

 _"Shocks the shit out of you if you've done something, but sometimes it doesn't hurt that bad."_

 _"I've worn those before. It happened to me when I ran off after a squirrel."_

Roach and Yuri had reached to a small flat area with a small creek. They were mostly surrounded by dead trees and rocks, and rusted pines laid at their paws as well. The runt waited patiently for the other to give him instructions on what they were doing here. _"Alright, Roach,"_ Yuri began, _"You've got weak combat skills to start off."_

 _"Thank you...?"_

 _"That wasn't a compliment. I'm just saying, you're too slow; too gentle. In other words, **weak.** "_

 _"That kinda hurts."_

 _"That's what I mean. Who taught you how to fight?"_

 _"Previous human handlers."_

 _"They obviously weren't good enough."_

 _"They were loving, if... That's what you're implying."_

Yuri had enough with this talk, _"Alright... Now changing the subject, how about we mold that 'sweet' behavior into K9's? Get into your defensive position."_

Roach did so, getting a little anxious on where Yuri was getting carried with this. For a moment, Yuri circled him, seeing how he was stanced. Finally, snarling as a signal to Roach that he was going to attack. Seeing the threat, Roach turned and put his paws up, pressing against Yuri's chest. They snapped at each other for a moment before it calmed down. Yuri winked at Roach, who was suddenly caught off guard, allowing Yuri to pin him down to the ground. Roach just stared at Yuri, ears perked up. _"One step is not to get distracted,"_ He said, stepping off of Roach, _"One look at something else and you're dead."_

 _"Right..."_ Roach rolled over, shaking off the dirt caught in his ears and fur, _"So what's next-"_

Yuri pounced on him again, giving him another lesson to be learned _"Expect the unexpected."_

 _"Okay... That would've been nice if I've gotten a heads up before your paw came to my face,"_ Roach struggled to get up, but Yuri stepped off. Roach panted and shook off again, _"So who taught you how to fight?"_

The black-haired dog stopped for a minute, remaining silent. Tilting his head, Roach questioned again, _"Yuri?"_

 _"A-An old friend,"_ He said uneasily, _"But I don't like to talk about him."_

 _"Also, now that it comes up, 'ally' and 'friend'. What's the difference?"_

 _"Good question, and fortunately for you I have an answer,"_ Roach rolled over back onto his stomach and listened to his explanation, _"An ally... Is someone you can trust. And a friend is someone you can rely on more than your ally."_

 _"Ah. Well, Yuri. Not to be a bad dog, but I'm marking you as an ally... For now."_

* * *

Marco had stayed silent and depressed for as long as possible. Never in his doggy life has he been this down. Some of the humans had urged him to come out from the cool shadows, but he remained there. John had been watching Marco since day one, and he could sense the strong sadness pumping in his heart. He finally walked over to the silenced dog, now beginning to see and feel why he was feeling this way. He'd lost everyone in his life, and now he can't get them back. First was the dog that tried attacking them, then they ate him up right in front of Marco and Jesper. Oh yeah, there was Jesper as well. Royce had told what happened. Apparently Marco was cornered by two other hostiles, and Jesper leaped in to save his brother. Several bullets instantly killed the mutt, but it was enough to get Marco out of there alive.

 _"You know,"_ John began, _"You did a good job. I know it wasn't something you wanted to do or see, but you're a strong one."_

All Marco would do was wag his tail slightly and glare. _"But you're not the only one who's seen losses of your close ones."_ Marco raised his ears and looked at John, waiting for him to continue. The old dog didn't want to go back to that memory, but he thought it'd be fair to let this mutt know he's not the only heartbroken one around here, _"Gaz... Was my friend back in my younger years. On one operation, all of us were nearly killed. Right in front of me... Gaz was barely alive. I tried dragging him out of trouble... But he was quickly extinguished... Right there..."_

Marco lowered his ears, grieving for John's loss as well. He scooted over closer to him, nuzzling next to the old dog. John was a bit surprised. It's been long since he's had a pisspup cuddled next to him. The last time he could remember was with small-pup, Mac. A tired little fella he was as trainee, and he'd mostly end up passing out beside John. The nearly-retired K9 still had that touch, even though he thought it was a little ridiculous to be cuddled up next to an older version of a dog. All John could do was sigh, letting Marco make himself comfortable as he began slipping into his own world.

* * *

 **FYI, Marco's not dead.**

 **yet...**


	25. Yuri

The former 141 dogs were introduced to a retired Russian K9 that went by the name of Nikolai. He stated that he knew Yuri since he was barely a year old. He was even a bit more older than John. In fact, he's even the largest dog the Loyalists used to have. Though they still keep him because the pups have grown very fond of having Nikolai around. He was basically their role model. If they've lost sight of him, it'd cause them to throw their little hissy fits. Especially for Roach, with the big ears, the FNDs and other dogs have grown very sensitive to their yips.

His bowl was placed next to Roach's and he tried his best to stay out of the way. Nikolai looked like the type of dog that no one wanted to mess with. Almost like Ghost, except this ball of muscle seemed more intimidating than any other dog here. Roach looked up once to see that Yuri's bowl had barely been touched, and he was nowhere in sight. Roach looked around. But the black-haired mutt wasn't anywhere. _"N-Nikolai,"_ He began.

 _"Какие?"_ Nikolai inquired.

 _"If I may ask, but where's Yuri?"_

 _"The runt? You can always find him out with his handlers. Why?"_

 _"Well, he's obviously not eating."_

 _"Da... He could go for days without getting a bite. Sometimes he won't eat at all."_

 _"Has that always been a thing with him?"_

 _"Since I found him."_

That raised more curiosity in the runt, and he continued with the conversation, _"You found him?"_

 _"Mm. Yuri was pretty small for his age, and we couldn't get him to eat on his first day. But he was shaken up about something, though he's never told me."_

 _"Did he ever tell you anything?"_

 _"He's a pretty quiet dog. But that doesn't mean he'll tear you apart."_

Roach swallowed hard as he excused himself and deciding to call it in. Though as he approached the kennels, he saw a familiar figure at the top the steps. He turned, raising his ears as he held back his excitement. He recognized those scars and eyes from anywhere. _"Mac!"_ Roach barked as he ran up the stairs to meet his superior. Mac saw his runt and ran to meet up with him. Roach nudged Mac in a playful way, now having adrenaline rushing out of his body. No words could even describe how happy he was to see his friend was okay. _"Mac, we were so worried about you!"_ Roach whined a bit.

 _"Worried?"_ Mac said, _"Heh, well I'm alright now."_

Roach rested his head on the back of Mac's neck, whereas the human's call it a "dog hug", _"Thank god you're okay."_

 _"I'm not done yet, mate."_

* * *

 **A short chapter, but I was a bit drowsy while writing this. I recently came back from seeing The Force Awakens, and I'm still stuck with that feeling after being in a movie theater, if you know what I mean. Anyways, thanks for reading :3**


	26. A Girl?

**I made a bit of an upgrade with the story :)**

 **the nerfanator** **: Sorry, but what? :p**

 **Star Princess** **: Aw, you're sweet. woof**

* * *

Fire was all he saw at first, and then there was blood at his paws. The place he was at was crumbling and, nearly everyone around him has fallen. That was when Roach finally opened his eyes and saw that it was only a vision. The night air brushed slightly against his fur as he slightly looked up, seeing that everything wasn't burning down. All remained calm except for his heart, which still had a rapid beat. _What was that about?_ Roach stood and readjusted himself before flopping back down with a tense sigh. The other dogs were still asleep, which meant he didn't have anyone to speak to. But that's all the runt really needed. Never in his year of being a K9 has he had such an intense dream like that.

Over in the middle of the courtyard, he saw a figure sitting in the middle of the moonlight. Its ears were a little flopped, and it was slightly small for a dog. Once with curiosity, Roach stood back up, being mindful to not to wake the other dogs. Sensing the movement, the small dog turned, seeing Roach approaching slowly. It spoke, and it slightly surprised Roach for a moment. Its tone was not something he's heard in a while, especially from a dog, _"Oh-... Did I wake you?"_ This medium-heighted pup was female, and there was a hint of "Brit" in her voice. _A girl? Dog?_

Roach sat not too far from her, _"N-No. Not at all. But I don't recognize your scent. Are you new?"_

 _"Yeah. They just put me in here."_

 _"A little late to be dropped off, don't you think?"_

The pup swiveled around to face Roach, _"My name's Nika. In case you wanted to know."_

Roach raised an ear, surprsied at the way she changed subjects so quickly, but he went with it, _"Roach."_

Nika raised both ears, _"Your name is Roach?"_

 _"Mm."_

She chuckled slightly, but not too loud, _"That's a little funny. I didn't know they could name dogs after bugs."_

 _"They can..."_

 _"Well, I'm not really making fun of you. 'Nika's' a bit of a silly name if you think about it."_

Roach bowed his head a bit, almost like he were nodding, _"Anyways, what brings you up so late?"_

 _"I had a little bit too much energy since they dropped me off here, and I wanted to burn it off somehow."_

 _"That'd get you a little hyped up some more."_

Nika tilted her head at Roach, _"Oh? And why are you up?"_

 _"'Dog dreaming'."_

 _"Good or bad?"_

Even with the nightmare over, Roach couldn't erase the vision from his head. The flames? The blood? What did it all mean? _"I'd rather not say. But it's really nothing for any of us to worry about." Perhaps._

 _"So it was bad?"_

 _"You could put it that way."_

Nika glanced over at the collar on Roach's neck, seeing a faded out emblem, but it still amazed her, _"You're a K9?!"_

 _"Big surprise?"_

 _"Well, I've seen other dogs like you back at the old place I lived at, but they always looked so vicious to get near."_

 _"That's what they teach you to do."_

 _"Why aren't you being intimidating right now then?"_

 _"There's no need to in the meantime."_

Nika, still excited about this, wagged her tail and spun around once, _"Can you teach me then? How to be like them?"_

 _"Oh,"_ Roach paused, _"I'm not really sure I'd be the best dog to ask, and really, all the skills we've learned came from humans."_ But it did make Roach wonder. _Does she see me as a role model already?_ He never really imaged he'd be so, considering that he still uses some of his "cute" techniques, and the only skill he relies on is his senses.

 _"C'mon, Roach!"_ Nika pleaded, _"Pretty please?"_

Roach looked back at the other dogs, who were still fast asleep. However, with a little bit more time to think, he thought about those resting dogs. _They're tougher than me._ _They'd be a better teacher with the skills they have, because that's all a K9 needs._

 _But again. Nika is a bit of a pain in the ass already._

 _No doubt she'd probably get torn apart by one of them. Possibly by Ghost._

 _"Okay,"_ Roach began, _"But you have to promise to pay attention in our lesson."_

 _"Y-You'll do it?!"_ Nika asked, and she spun around once again.

 _"Though being a K9 is a serious job as well, which means you'll have to take it seriously."_

 _"I will!"_

 _"Then rest up. We'll start tomorrow morning."_

Roach walked back over to his spot chilled spot in the open kennel. As he laid down, Nika came snuggling right under his arm, beginning to relax her body. _"Thank you, Roach..."_


	27. Search

**Okaaayyyy. So, January was pretty hectic. I was piled with homework assignments that took forever (One took me until 1 in the morning to finish), and all I've wanted to do work on updates n' stuff. But all of that has been prevented because of the chaos. The next few chapters may be short because; One, the school wants to bore the heck out of me with their "edge-i-ma-cation". Two, I'm getting pretty close to ending this story (Yet not quite there). But try to enjoy these updates while you still can because it may be another week or two until I can post anything.**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves:** **Yeah! I knew I was going to be adding a girl dog later on, thus Nika was created. XD**

 **nirmalaanandna:** **I'm glad you like it, and I'm trying hard to update when I can :p**

* * *

Ghost felt a little ridiculous for the past couple weeks. He'd spent most of his time next to Sergeant Phillips, who'd been slowly trying to get over her K9's death. Ghost had been there to help her get through the hard days, but there some things he didn't like doing. One would be chasing the tennis ball back and fourth. It felt nice to get a breeze on his fur, but it'd be boring after a while. Then there'd be the hugging. Sometimes he liked them, but having too many is overwhelming. There at least pros to having Phillips be his little "soul mate". For instance, on some nights he can sleep on the bed, which not most K9s do here. It's a lot cozier than staying in the freezing kennels.

For once in a little while, Phillips finally seemed to be like her old-self again and got Ghost back into training. She sort of became his handler since his other one died in captivity. It was a bit of a searching session. One soldier would hide somewhere in the woods and Ghost would have to sniff him or her out. He'd been through a few drills and each time got a little bit challenging. One this one, Ghost went a little too far from his target. A new scent latched onto him and as a dog, of course he'd go investigate. Phillips tried calling him back, but Ghost kept going. It lead him to another bush, and it moved just a little bit. In the shadow of the bushes was a small figure with two glowing eyes. Ghost growled. _Better not be another bear._

 _"What?"_ A small, high pitched voice questioned, and Ghost laid down his guard as a small pup appeared only its head out of the shadows. It was the FNP, Nika. Ghost noticed her trailing Roach wherever he went on her first few days. At first, she only would be with that runt. Any other dog she'd be around meant that she'd have her long tail tucked in between her legs. She'd grown to some of them as Roach reassured that they wouldn't hurt her. Ghost however, didn't want anything to do with the pisspup. Little ones like her, were easily irritating to the K9.

 _"What're you doing in there?"_ Ghost sighed.

 _"Hiding from Roach,"_ Nika said in a whisper.

 _"From Roach?"_

 _"I can't let him find me-"_

They suddenly heard footsteps crunching in the twigs and rocks, and Nika dived back into her hiding spot. Roach appeared, panting heavily due to the hot sun shining down on his fur. _"You look run down,"_ Ghost commented.

 _"It's pretty hot out this morning,"_ Roach licked his nose, _"What're you doing out here?"_

 _"Training session. Only I didn't find what I was looking for."_

 _"Well, what I'm looking for is pretty close right now."_

Ghost glared at Nika's glowing eyes, but Roach didn't notice yet. _"And who are you looking for?"_

 _"I'm playing a little game with Nika."_

Roach finally got a full scent of the puppy's trail, but decided not to pop out and tell Nika she's been compromised. He instead strolled around the bush, saying things almost in a tormenting way, _"But I think I've finally lost her, Ghost. I can't find her anywhere."_

Ghost knew what he was doing and decided to play along as well, _"That's a shame, mate."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. Wonder what they'll do to me if they see that Nika isn't with me?"_

 _"Probably won't feed you for a month."_

 _"They'll probably use my fur for a nice coat."_

Nika's eyes widened in fear and her floppy ears were pointed. She couldn't bear seeing her mentor without that fluffy fur coat. She didn't want to see him unhealthy and weak. _"Roach, I'm right here!"_ She popped out of the bush, the hair on her back stood and her ears were all the way back. Ghost chuckled a little, and Nika caught that, _"What?"_

 _"We got you good there."_

 _"Wha-! Why would you do that!?"_

 _"It's just a little teasing,"_ Roach explained, _"We've all gotten that once or twice. Most by our humans."_

 _"Don't ever do that again!"_

"Ghost!" Phillips called out again, her voice closer as she saw the three dogs together. Nika looked at the human. _Wow... She's really pretty! Or is it a he?_

"There you are," She continued, and she looked over at Roach, "You want to come with us too?"

Roach wagged his tail as he lead Nika over to where the big dogs train. Roach looked over at Ghost, _"So how are you and her getting along?"_

 _"She's too kind,"_ Ghost sighed.

 _"Really...? And you're not okay with it?"_

 _"I'm not really the 'kind' type. How'd Shepherd let her into our unit?"_

 _"Do you like her?"_

 _"She's..."_ Ghost paused, hesitating for a second and Roach caught that, _"Adequate."_

 _"Are you sure you don't 'like' her?"_

Ghost stopped in his tracks, getting annoyed at what Roach was hinting at, _"Excuse me?"_

 _"You totally like her Ghost!"_

 _"I do not..."_

 _"Ghost-"_

 _"Shut it, runt."_

Roach trotted in front of Ghost, giving him those puppy eyes, _"Ghost. Be honest."_

Ghost snarled, very easily irritated, _"Okay, you know what...? I think it's time to put an end to this conversation."_

Roach suddenly snapped out of being cute and lowered his ears, seeing the angered emotion in his elder's eyes. He slowly back up but Ghost stalked at him, _"Ghost, stop giving me that look. Don't think about it-"_ Roach yipped as Ghost lunged and snapped at him before charging full speed ahead. Nika backed up and watched as she watched the chase. Phillips called out for them both, but none stopped. Roach had gotten far enough from Ghost and leapt through a small hedge, only to collide with another dog his size. Yuri.

Both looked at each other for a moment before getting up. Yuri whined for a moment, feeling a bit of pain in his shoulder. His handler, who was wearing bite sleeve and waiting for Yuri to come charging at him, took the moment to see what the collision did to his K9. _"Did you mean to do that?"_ Yuri muttered.

 _"Sorry,"_ Roach shook off, _"I was too busy running from Ghost."_

 _"Huh. I didn't know your unit tried to kill each other."_

 _"Well, he does."_

 _"We could use his strength so tell him not to waste it."_

Roach tilted his head slightly, _"You seem to be... obsessed with strength and such."_

 _"It's what we need to win. Am I wrong?"_

 _"Well that and... I guess 'intelligence'?"_

 _"That's the last thing I could care about."_ Roach was at a loss for words and Yuri continued, _"When the time comes, you'll see why I needed the power."_


	28. K9s in Training

**Short chapter ahead readers. Maybe the next one will be somewhat interesting...**

* * *

Roach had Archer pinned to the ground, showing his superior that his combat skills have developed over the long month of September. Roach got off and Archer shook off, _"Nice... I'll admit, Roach. That's some good improvement."_

 _"Just 'good'?"_ Roach tilted his head slightly and nudged Archer in a playful way, _"Come on, it's better than that isn't it?"_

 _"Well, it's adequate. With those attacks you could maybe scare off Ghost."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Okay maybe not Ghost, but's enough to scare off your own."_

Roach shrugged his half-flopped ears. _"Anyway,"_ Archer began, _"You seemed to have had your paws full lately."_

 _"Yeah. I'm being trained and I'm training another one."_

 _"And how's the new blood for ya?"_

 _"Nika's been growing a lot. Her claws have even gotten a bit sharper."_

 _"Think she'll be bigger than you?_ _"_

 _"Oh. Shut up."_

They heard one of the handlers call their names, and both responded to see what he had planned for them. Roach felt a sudden surprise when he felt his vest being tugged by another human. He was fortunately a friendly, and the runt caught up to make up for the missed steps he took. _"I know what we're doing,"_ Archer said with a laugh, stancing defensively. Roach did the same as he walked across from his trainer. Both humans held up their arm with the bite sleeve, while Archer gazed at Roach, _"Whoever puts the most effort gets an extra bowl tonight."_

 _"Fine,"_ Roach chuckled, _"Hope you can survive until morning."_

 _"Excuse me? So you want to go the hard way?"_

 _"Your supposed to put your effort into it, if I recall correctly."_

Archer liked Roach's confidence, _"Okay. We'll go that way."_

* * *

John watched as Mac lunged at his handler and tugged at the bite suit. He's been doing well when it comes to recovering from his injuries, now all he's doing is recovering his skills. The old dog felt a little glad to see that his former student was doing well after the pain he's been through. But every once in while, he'd yelp in pain from one of his past wounds. Nika was next to John and enjoyed watching the training she'll one day go through.

 _"It must be fun doing those kind of exercises,"_ Nika commented.

John shot her a glare, _"You could say that but it's not easy."_

 _"I know. Roach told me."_

 _"Did he? What else did he tell you?"_

Nika paused for a moment before saying, _"Most dogs... Don't get passed their training."_

 _"That can be true. Mac nearly didn't make his first day."_

 _"Why's that?"_

 _"The weight of the vest. Lad, couldn't handle it at first."_

The pup looked at Mac and back at John, sort of beginning to panic at first, _"They haven't fit me into one of those things yet! You think I'll fall on my first try?"_

 _"Depends on the pisspup you are."_

 _"Pisspup?"_

 _"Nickname for raw ones. I've called Roach that for a while."_

 _"Oh..."_

John chuckled, _"You'll outgrow it one day."_

 _"Well, I'll outgrow being 'raw' too!"_ Nika said proudly, _"I'll work hard and be just like you guys one day!"_


	29. Invasion

_"Sure you want to do this, runt?"_ Mac stood across from Roach, stancing into a pouncing position.

 _"I think I could pin you,"_ Roach said, looking straight into Mac's eyes, meaning to Mac that the smaller dog was up for the challenge. He slightly tilted his head, ready to see how Roach's combat skills would pay off. But he had no doubt that he had improved his strength over their long hiatus. _"Alright, I'll strike first,"_ Mac looked back into Roach's eyes, _"But I won't be easy on you."_

 _"I'm ready,"_ Roach winked at Mac, _"Let's see what you've got, old dog."_

 _"Then we'll see what you're made of, runt."_

Roach moved his back paw back as Mac lunged out at him, deflecting his attack. For a moment, the alpha was surprised at the reaction time, and confidence grew in the smaller K9. He landed on his front paws as he felt both of Roach's forearms land on his back. For a moment, the runt tugged at Mac's scruff on his crest in a playful way. Mac leapt up a little to get him off, but it wasn't enough to make Roach fall on his back or side. The runt nipped out at his leader to intimidate him. Nipping was old for Mac and it didn't really frighten him to back down. Roach lunged out, and he managed to stay on top of his elder before being kicked off shortly after.

Both took a moment to catch their breath. _"Good, runt,"_ Mac panted, shaking off.

 _"I almost had you,"_ Roach lowered his big ears just a little.

 _"You almost..."_

They stood in silence for a moment before hearing some twigs snap. _"What was that?"_

 _"Could be squirrel. Maybe it could be your lucky day to snatch it."_

Roach raised an ear, _"Nice try, Mac."_ The twigs snapped again, and the runt turned in the direction of the noise, both ears raised. He was too distracted from that noise that he didn't notice that Mac had tricked him, now feeling himself being pinned against the dusty ground. He groaned, eyes glared up at his elder. _"Okay, now you're just cheating."_

 _"You chose to investigate that noise,"_ Mac tilted his head, and Roach returned to having his flopped ears. _Oh right. Don't get distracted._ The twig snapping got closer than before, making both K9s alert. Mac stepped off of Roach, and they prepared for whatever was coming from the forest. Suddenly, leaping from the bushes, was a small puppy, which Roach identified as Nika. She ended colliding with him, heavily breathing and shaking at the same time.

 _"N-Nika,"_ Roach began, getting up.

 _"T-There's... They..."_ Nika sat up too, worn out.

 _"What is it, lass?"_ Mac inquired.

 _"There's these guys... And they're fighting our friends... J-John told me to run, a-and some humans aren't moving...!"_ Mac and Roach exchanged concerned looks, not liking what they were hearing, and they immediately took off. Nika looked at them take off in the direction she was running from. She only found that she wasn't able to follow, afraid to re-see the horror taking place at her home.

Roach was the first to make it up the hill, and he stopped immediately when he nearly stumbled over a hound's body. Half of its body was completely blown off, and all that poured out were its blood and organs. Roach looked at the dog's upper part. It had no collar and even with its mouth hung open, he couldn't see the tongue. _Marco..._

 **(A/N: Anime fans? See what I did there? Mwahahahahaha! There probably aren't any anime fans on a fandom like this, in which case I should probably shut up 0.0 Is this bold font distracting?** _Should I change it to italic? Ooh. That looks like crap._ **Ah. There we go. What was I doing again? Oh right. My apologies. Continue reading.)**

Mac caught up and stood by Roach, who could really do nothing but watch as the entire area burned in flames and some human beings burned with it. _The fire... The blood..._ In the sky were choppers, landing and unloading some intruders with it. Some hellhounds came with this mix as well. _"Roach, let's go..."_ Mac was still stunned by the whole invasion, but he knew that there was a job to be done. Roach barked once before charging forward to attend to his allies and friends.

* * *

Ghost dodged through the bullets and debris that blew up not too far from him. He had no idea where all these hostiles came from, he just knew what he had to do to try to keep everyone standing. For a moment, he was completely taken off guard when he felt someone or something tackle him. He made whatever was on him roll off, seeing that it was another K9. But this wasn't a friendly. The hostile canine leapt forward, and Ghost was quick enough to deflect its attack, quickly pinning and ending its life there. _"God, these little shits are tough,"_ He muttered to himself. Taking out a human was easy enough. But when Ghost is up against another one of his kind, with the same skills he was taught, it was rather difficult depending on the type of dog. He quickly shook off before following his nose to find his present handler, who he was most worried about. He was fortunate that her scent was close.

Though as he turned the corner, he found Sergeant Philips. But on top of her was a dog, much more bigger than him. On some parts of his body, patches of thick fur was noticeable where other parts were bare and scarred. The dog's teeth were sunk deep into the sergeant's throat, who's face was expressionless and her eyes were gazing down at Ghost.

The smaller dog felt his blood boil in anger and sadness as the bigger one now looked up, blood and saliva seeping out of his mouth. He licked it off and stepped off of the deceased sergeant. _"Are you just going to stand there and shake like a coward?"_ The hellhound spoke, _"Or did you come here for a fight?"_

 _"I came for her,"_ Ghost growled, _"But fine. I'll gladly play dirty if that's what you want."_

Ghost stanced defensively, preparing for possibly the biggest fight of his life. He snarled as an intimation, the hair on his back sharply stood up. _I'll kill you..._ The bigger dog barked, and Ghost lunged forward only to be knocked down so quickly. But he rolled back up on his feet, pawing out and marking is opponent's snout. It didn't seem like a deep mark though, and it wasn't very effective on the hellhound. Then when he saw that his shoulder was exposed to his target, the larger dog immediately latched his teeth onto the only part he could really catch along with having his jaw biting into a small area of his chest. Ghost yelped and cried as he felt the pain sink in deep.

It felt like all of his strength was taken away as his target let go, ending up falling on his side as the sharp teeth were taken out of his shoulder. Ghost sighed, whining at the same time. He tried sitting up, but the bigger K9 placed his paw heavily on him. _Is this where it all ends?_ Ghost closed his eyes, bracing to feel the conclusion of his life.

* * *

 **I feel so evil :-)**


	30. Hellhound

**You guys are gonna hate me! XD**

 **Boopem** **: Yay! You understood the reference!**

 **Nirmalaandna** **: There's more blood and evil to come, my friend.**

* * *

There were so many things going on all in one. Flying above Mac and Roach's head was gun fire. Beside them, bodies were dropping limp whistle others desperately tried crawling out of the fight. Then there was debris, one broken brick nearly collided with Mac who was leading them both through the firefight.

Suddenly from the distance, Roach heard the distant yelp from a familiar dog. _Ghost!_ The runt came to a sliding halt, and turned the other way, _"Mac! Follow me!"_

 _"Roach-!"_ Mac followed anyway. After all Roach's senses never lied. At full speed ahead, all the runt was worried about was that they'd be too late. Worried that right as they showed up, Ghost would already be scarred, limp, and dead. Relief was shown to him when he sensed the Ghost was still alive, but was on the verge of coming to his death. On top of him, a larger dog, probably the size of Nikolai or taller, was about ready to sink his teeth into Ghost's neck. Mac took point this time, lunging forward and tackling the larger dog off of the smaller one. Roach stopped right in front of Ghost, seeing that he was still breathing, yet unconscious.

 _"Okay... C'mon Ghost..."_ Roach panted as he latched onto Ghost's harness, and he pulled. _"Oh... Okay... You're-"_ He was interrupted by one of his coughs for a moment, _"You're heavier than I thought..."_ But Roach was determined to get the bitten dog out of here and towards safety. His pulls instead turned into tugs as he only managed to drag Ghost about and inch across the ground with each tug.

Mac seemed to be doing a good job at keeping the bigger dog busy, but was a little intimidated by the size. He was at least knew what to do to give himself an advantage. He nipped a few times at his enemy, managing to get a bite into his fur and flesh. But as he lashed is paw out in attempt to mark its snout, he was met with the sharp and quick bite from his target, who then threw him forward. Mac was in pain for a second. He could've sworn he heard something pop as he hulled over to the ground.

Roach looked up once in concern, but he was reassured once he saw that Mac was back on his feet shortly. However, he could only stand on three legs, and that wasn't much help when it came to facing a big guy like this one. The larger beast seemed quite amused with the pain he gave to the two dogs, and lunged out to give more, this time mulling Mac over. The alpha was back on the ground yet again, and couldn't get up as he met the sharp teeth in his neck. His cries and yelps were ear-wrenching to Roach, he stood in horror as he observed the bigger dog, shaking Mac was if he were trying to tear apart a chew toy. He threw Mac over again, and the blood from his neck came oozing out so quickly. His wandering eyes went over to Roach, who had his tail tucked in and his ears perked back.

The larger dog eyed Roach as well, his bloodied teeth formed into some sort of grin. The runt barked, trying to get his courage up. _"This is the end of your rope, mutt,"_ The dog said. **(A/N: So I was using my iPad, and I tried translating 'mutt' to Russian. When I was copying and pasting, it instead pasted the recent story I put up. And since I'm a lazy ass, I didn't bother to fix it :p. Oh, is this a distraction? DISTRACT DISTRACT DISTRACT DISTACT! Okay, carry on)** Roach hovered over Ghost, trying to protect shield him away from the hostile, who was getting close enough that the runt could sniff its bloodied, snarling breath.

Suddenly, all four ears were raised at the sound of a nearby bark, and the enemy was greeted by a small Archer, leaping onto him. Roach couldn't help but wag his tail a bit as Royce appeared before him as well, " _Are we late? What happened?"_ He began to pull Ghost as well.

 _"Not now, Royce,"_ Roach said, _"We've got two dogs down, and Yuri and John sure are taking their time to get their asses over here."_

 _"That big of a deal over here?"_

 _"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's a beast trying to rip Archer apart over there!"_

Archer was clinging onto the dog's back with his claws and teeth, but he found it difficult to rip out a piece of his target's flesh. It was way too thick. He was finally bucked off not too far from the hellhound, who wasted no time to finish off his rabid attacker. He bit viciously into the chest and throat, and Archer didn't have a chance to whimper or yelp.

 _"Why that son of a-!"_ Royce leapt forward, but the bigger dog didn't seem to be surprised by this attack. A swift paw across the feet, and Royce was down just in time to see the last image of the dog biting a chunk out of his neck. Roach now stood alone, fearing that this may be his last day to live. His brown eyes flickered over to each downed dog. Ghost was alive, but unconscious. Royce and Archer had their throats torn up, and Mac lay wounded and unable to fight.

Roach backed up as the dog stepped over Ghost, and the runt's back came in contact with a large piece of debris. He felt the warm breath of his enemy against his face. He snarled, and all Roach could do was whimper and await the pain. What made matters worse was another bark coming nearby, and it was Yuri's. The short-furred K9 barked viciously, and like usually, the larger dog wasn't taken back. However, it was enough to make him move away from Roach.

He approached Yuri casually, speaking lie they've spoken before, _"I never thought I'd see eyes like yours again."_

Yuri stopped snarling, but stood his ground. Roach had both of his ears pointed up, surprised. Both Ruusian dogs stood staring at each other. Yuri growled a bit as both heard a human shout a command, but it wasn't theirs. The larger dog spoke again, _"It seems that we'll have to pick up our fight another time."_

He began to walk away, but Yuri snarled and barked, immediately being pinned. The hostile stared down at the squirming dog, _"I said... We'll do it another time. And you will fall."_

He took his paw off of Yuri as he disappeared into the smoke. Roach still sat there with awed eyes and speechless. Yuri got up and looked back at him, not knowing how to explain what happened. _"Yuri...! Roach...!"_ They heard John's voice. But the runts were still frozen in their place as the old dog approached and looked at the mess that was made. His attention was mostly towards Mac, half awake and breathing shallowly.

Roach glared at Yuri before walking to John.

The black-furred runt sighed, tensely and walked away knowing that Roach will want some answers.

* * *

 **And now to brighten up the mood, let me ask you a random question for you readers! If you were stuck on a elevator with a song-writer, which one would you want to be stuck with?**

 **Andy Biersack for me :D**

 **Okay I'm done now! Bye!**


	31. Discharged

**So... I'm typing this from my multimedia class, and it feels really weird for some reason. But I've got nothing to do, so why not? Anyways, are you guys ready to cry?**

 **nirmalaanandna** **: Oh no! Ghost is very much alive! *Pauses* But about Mac...**

 **MyDestinyIsWithTheWolves:** **You alright there?**

* * *

The entire safe-house was nothing more than just a pile of debris. Some parts stood, while others crumbled into small stones or ashes. However it was lucky enough to still have their underground level undamaged. It really didn't have any use up until now, where in different corners and areas of the level were wounded survivors being treated to their wounds. Ghost lay on a dark, thin blanket, having his shoulder injury being stitched up. He barely squirmed, but he was too worn down anyway. He only lifted his head up once as he felt something tug against his skin and fur. The doctor gently laid Ghost back down as he sighed, almost whining.

Roach and his handler, unharmed, were making their way down to a separate room. In there, a wounded K9, half awake, had his wounds treated. Roach immediately strolled over to the table and rested his head on it as his eyes met with Mac's. The handler discussed something with the medic that saved the alpha from death while the two other dogs had their own conversation. _"Mac... Can you see me?"_

Mac touched Roach's nose with his, _"You're a bit hazy, but yes..."_

The runt sighed, _"Mac... That dog... It knew Yuri."_

 _"Did it now?"_

Roach raised his head, _"The others...! I forgot to tell-"_

 _"Stay Roach..."_

 _"It'll be just for a short second-"_

 _"A short second is long enough for me to..."_ Mac paused at the pain in his broken paw while feeling his heart sink.

 _"What Mac?"_

He sighed, _"I guess it just means that... When you get back... I won't be here."_

Roach raised his ears, gently nudging Mac, _"Mac, what do you-..."_ Mac gave his runt a look, causing him to whine, " _N-No... Don't say that- Y-You'll be... You'll be fine...!"_

 _"Honestly, Roach..."_ Mac laughed a bit, _"A broken paw, a ripped neck..."_

 _"I-I could survive it! That means you can-"_

 _"I'm not like you... They named you 'Roach' for a reason..."_

The runt was at a loss for words. He looked at the bandaged areas of Mac's body. Even with it wrapped tightly, blood seeped through his neck. He looked at the handler and medic, who was filling a needle with some sort of clear fluid. _"My job's done, runt..."_ Mac said, _"But you keep doing yours..."_

 _"Mac... No..."_ Roach whined, standing up.

 _"Finish your fight, Roach..."_

The handler walked over to his K9, looping his hand around his harness and gently pulling him out. Roach slightly resisted, trying his best to stay. Mac lowered his ears, as the door closed, and Roach pawed at it with little effort, while being dragged at the same time. The medic stayed with Mac, rubbing his head while reassuring him that everything will be okay. But Mac knew what was next. He was going to see them again. Ozone. Archer. Royce. And perhaps maybe Marco. He's witnessed death long enough to know what will come to him when his time comes.

He didn't whine or yelp as he felt the needle touch his shoulder, and the effects of the fluid began to take its place. Mac's vision got blurrier and he grew more weary. He tried his best to stay awake for as long as possible because the moment he closes his his, everyone and everything that's still here will be gone. He pictured his memories with the 141, recalling the first day when Roach was there. A slow growing pisspup that would be behind the pack. He blinked at the time when he was reunited with his mentor. _Oh... And let's not forget the loving handlers..._

 _I'd say that I lived a good life..._

As Mac closed his eyes, his breathing stopped along with his pulse, and from where Roach stood, he could sense that the light in that room had gone out.

* * *

 **Well, have a good rest of your day, and ohcraptheteacher'scoming!**


	32. Reminiscence

**Sorry for a late update, readers. February and March have been a pain in the neck, school is getting a little bit stressful, and I've been really emotional this week for no reason. That and I've been diving into some Call of Duty: Ghosts fanfics. I'm sort of losing interest in this story due to the fact that I'm getting close to finishing this. I'll try to make the last few chapters my best, and if they're not I apologize. But anyway, sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you like it :3**

 **Oh and I lied. There's another flashback :/**

 **Boopem** **: 0_0 You need some milk?**

 **Troopergirl49** **: No, I don't think so :3**

 **nirmalaanandna : Thank you :)**

* * *

Nika had finally came out of the forest to see that everything that the place she called her home was completely destroyed. She saw humans with wounds in their skin being tended to, while others barely moved even with their eyes open. She looked around to find Roach or any other dog. Not too far away, she caught a glimpse of Yuri, walking back into the forest. Then she slightly wagged her tail when she saw Roach and his handler walking out of the half-wrecked safehouse. She was about to run over and leap on the runt, happy that he was alive, but not well.

Roach looked at her, relieved that she was alive, but looked back at the ground with sorrow. Nika stopped, perking her ears up. Her excitement dropped when she sensed grief coming from the runt. She hesitantly walked up, nudging Roach to get his attention. _"Roach..."_ She whimpered, _"Are you okay...?"_

Roach looked down at Nika, lowering his ears just a bit, _"He's dead... Mac is dead, Nika."_

 _"W-What?!"_

 _"That beast... He killed almost every dog in our pack."_

 _"What beast...?"_

Roach couldn't answer. He instead sat down, pouting. His eyes glimmered like he was going to cry. His ears drooped and his back was hunched over forward a bit. _You cowardly pisspup,_ He thought to himself, _You just watched them die. You just kept your tail tucked in._ He sighed, and Nika nudged in a bit closer to give him her best comforts. _"I'm sorry, Roach..."_

Roach rested his head on the furry pup's head, exhausted from the events that took place today. _How did everything fall apart so soon?_ He looked around at the destruction. Bodies were still spread across the ground, pale and bloodied. He suddenly raised his ears, now just remembering how that large beast harmed all but him.

And Yuri.

Roach sniffed, quickly finding his scent. Snarling just a bit, he broke from his handler's grasp and took off into the forest. Nika was surprised, nearly being knocked over by the speed the runt took off at. Roach wasn't going to play nice with this. Filled with anger, he leapt onto a familiar K9, barely expecting the attack. Yuri struggled at first, but when he tried fighting back, Roach snarled and barked, saliva slowly oozing from both sides of his mouth. He was slightly surprised by this. He's known Roach long enough, and the runt would normally play all sweet and kind sometimes. But with that look in his eyes, Yuri literally thought he was going to be killed by this weakling.

 _"Roach-"_

 _"We trusted you, Yuri,"_ Roach growled, sinking his claws into Yuri's chest, but not actually intending to kill him, _"I thought **I** could trust you... But how the hell does that mutt know you!?"_

Yuri stayed staring into the angered runt's eyes, seeing that he wasn't getting up until he's heard an answer. It was a really long answer, and the short-furred dog went back to when he was just beginning to take on the job of a K9.

* * *

 *** Two years earlier***

Yuri was the strongest mutt out of all dogs, even for a one-year-old. He gave his superior a final tug at the bite sleeve before letting go once he saw his handler nearly fall forward from the pull. Yuri licked his nose and twitched his ear off to one side as he heard some other dog say, _"He's a strong, mutt."_

 _"Da, for his size."_

Yuri growled a bit. He wasn't small. Or was he? He turned and faced the voices, only to see that they were coming from two larger dogs. One had permanent scars and burns on his skin while the other looked perfectly fine. Those two were looking directly at him, and a bit intimated by their size, Yuri thought it'd be best to stay away from those dogs. And it wasn't only the best option for him. It was best for everyone to stay away from that one larger dog.

Yuri's heard stories of the one with scars. Makar, they called him. Most dogs had told the runt that he got those burns from surviving a helicopter explosion. It burnt nearly all of his fur off, and the scars to that day remained that maroon shade. Yuri had surprisingly gotten on Makar's good side. Being a good dog in all, Makar also admired the runt's strength and determination. Though it was good to be a friend to this stronger dog, another part of Yuri absolutely dreaded being around him.

Makar was sadistic since the incident with the helicopter. He had the mind of a psychopath, only it was only Yuri who could tell. He's seen him mutilate humans, he's even come close to ripping his handler apart. But what made Yuri's heart twist for the dog was when he and Makar were ordered to kill a small family. The larger hound had followed his orders, but Yuri stayed where he was and listened to the screams and cries from those who were guiltless.

Then on that same day, Yuri had killed an old ally of his, some dog close to Makar. He didn't exactly know why he did it at first. Soon, everyone around him became his enemy. He's seen what his 'so-called-family' does to the POWs and other innocent human beings. He knew that this wasn't where he belonged, and even Makar knew it when he saw the signs of betrayal. On an attempt to find and kill the leader of this large army, the dog he once called his friend had gotten to him first. Yuri fought back, and he managed to wear out his enemy and mark him up, but Makar made wounds of his own on Yuri.

The runt was forced to retreat out into nowhere, left to perish from his scars.

* * *

 _"But I was found,"_ Yuri continued, Roach's grip loosened a bit, _"And it was my goal to fight the real enemies."_

The K9, still on top, looked at him as he got off. Roach had his head lowered a bit, loosing that rage he had stored since the beginning of Yuri's explanation, who still remained laying on the ground. The big-eared-runt had no words. He just stared at the downed K9. But as a response, he bowed his head once as if he were nodding before walking away. Yuri watched as he disappeared out of his sights, surprised a bit. He too got up as well, shaking off. He recalled the moments that happened in the past. When he arrived too late, and when he let Makar get away.

 _"Next time, проклятая собачонка_ ," Yuri muttered, _"You won't be leaving my sight alive."_

* * *

 **We're getting pretty close. Hang in there readers, and I'll try to update when I can.**


	33. He'll be Mine

**Heeyyy... So sorry for another month off. I've been caught up in school work and probably will be for another week because of PARCC testing, or as we like to call it, "CRAP." Also I've been thinking and planning other fanfiction projects like turning COD characters into Ghouls or bringing back an old story I deleted like a year ago or two.**

 **nirmalaanandna** **: Thanks, man. It'll probably be another while until another update though :p**

 **Boopem : Puppy Ghost is still okay! And maybe I'll make some fluffy Ghost and Roach moments at some point :)**

* * *

Those that died in the invasion had their bodies burned, and this included the deceased dogs as well. Roach and Nika stayed looking at the pile of ashes with grief. It was mostly Roach who had been filled with his doggy depression. It was like he lost all of his strength to go on. He's never had his heart sink so deep into his body before. But that wasn't all he was feeling. For the past few days, he's been thinking that Mac and the other dogs' spirits lingered on these grounds. When he thought of that, he'd bark repeatedly at nothing for no reason. But Roach knew he wasn't the only one having a hard time with Mac's passing.

John definitely wasn't taking his death lightly. He was not only under sadness, but he's gotten a bit more aggressive as well. Like Ghost, he'd sometimes try to kill his handler on training sessions. When pushing himself to do so, he strained a muscle in his leg and had to take it easy for the next few days. Roach and Yuri were the only strong dogs standing with a healthy heart. Though they didn't have any energy to put up a fight. Even for Yuri, who is the best dog in his unit, he couldn't find that one place inside him that kept him fighting. Roach's sorrow was getting to him, and it reminded him of how it felt to lose someone close. He didn't exactly call the 141 unit his 'friends', but he felt for Roach, and it sunk into his skin easily.

* * *

Tolly questioned Makar once he was reached his corner of the kennel, _"Makar, why didn't you kill that runt on the spot?"_

 _"You seemed to have picked a good time to ask,"_ Makar answered after he'd gotten his muzzle taken off his nose, _"But I just wasn't in the mood for his blood that day. The other quivering mutt looked more mouth watering."_

 _"Really? There was another one you spared?"_

 _"It was entertaining to watch him try to be courageous. But I could still see his tail tucked between his legs."_

 _"He sounds easy to take down."_

 _"Surely you can handle a wuss like him, wouldn't you?"_

 _"Ha. It'd be my pleasure."_

 _"And Tolly, I know your tastes for Yuri seem a bit more stronger than mine-"_

 _"He sounds like a challenge, and it's healthy once in a while to have a good fight."_

 _"Yes... But once we come head to head with his gang of enemies, he belongs to me."_

* * *

 _"Roach,"_ Nika nudged the older dog to get his attention, and Roach looked down, _"Talk to me... Will you?"_

 _"What is there to talk about?"_ Roach looked back at the pile of ashes.

 _"It's just... I don't..."_

Roach closed his eyes, but listened as Nika began her random conversation, _"I don't want to be a K9..."_

In all honesty, the runt wanted to laugh. If there's one thing he knew about being a K9, it's that he can never quit. But he looked down again, _"What happened to being determined? Why the sudden change?"_

 _"Well, on that day... I felt feelings I hated. I know it sort of just happens considering that all dogs are like this. But I felt your sadness and I felt John's anger. It was mostly the rage that got to me. Am I ever going to end up like a monster if I lose someone close? It's sort of how I viewed John for the past couple days, and it sort of scared me. Or am I going to be stuck in sadness and stay with a darkened heart?"_

Roach stayed looking at Nika, a bit stunned and speechless at first. _"Nika..."_ He began, _"You should never have to think about how we're feeling. I know it's a dog's thing to get wrapped up in those things, but that doesn't really mean you'll end up like that. Everyone that died that day was a big loss for all of us, but we'll need to leave it behind us eventually. If you don't want to feel like that, you'll need to find a way to prevent it. Or if it ever does get to you, it's the same thing, you'll just need to find a way to get it out of you."_

 _"Then how will you get rid of your sadness?"_

Roach looked up, perking his ears up a bit, _"I'm gonna kill that dog that killed my friends."_

* * *

 **Seriously though! Ghouls and COD! Cool right? *Crickets* Okay, goodnight folks :p**


	34. K9s in Kombat

**You ready readers? After a long wait we finally see if our squad of 141 dogs accomplish their mission. Will Roach avenge Mac and the others- Oh screw it. Just read.**

 **Boopem: Things may or may not get better for the dogs. Or at least... one of them. Maybe... Probably not... I dunno :p**

 **Axis: I was thinking about adding Riley to this story, but we're getting pretty close to the end, so yeah**

 **Justagenericusername: Haha. Thanks for the review, man. Here's the next chapter :3**

* * *

Yuri and Roach were ready for the fight they were heading towards. Their stomachs were full of energy from their earlier meal, which even consisted of human food as well for extra protein. Their vests were firm enough to protect them from any bullet or knife attack. The same applied for the humans as well. Some of them even wore juggernaut suits for when they go into the bullet storm waiting for them outside. The van they were in nearly spun out of control, and with one sniff, Roach knew their driver was down.

 _"Roach,"_ Yuri nudged him with his paw, _"Ignore your handler's orders."_

 _"Wha-! Yuri, what?!"_

 _"I can smell him out there. He'll be a tough one, but leave him to me."_

 _"But... Yuri-"_

 _"I know, Roach. But I'm trusting you to do this."_

Roach's ears perked up, looking at the human getting up and heading towards the van door, and then back at Yuri, _"Okay... Then I'm trusting you to kill him."_

 _"I will. He's not getting out of this alive."_

The human up front kicked open the van door, and immediately Yuri was the first to break through the crowd. Roach hesitated at first, but broke free as well, following Yuri through the storm of bullets. They were too far from their humans, staying low behind cover. Yuri went ahead and took down a nearby hostile that wasn't a dog, but wasn't wearing any protection either. Soon though, they heard loud barks and snarls coming from the big, fancy hotel in front of them. Roach was relieved to sense that these dogs weren't really experienced as him and Yuri. _S.W.A.T. Dogs._ Then he breathed in a familiar scent. It was far, but he recognized it as Makar's. He looked up, and through the windows he could see the hellhound. He felt his blood boil up in anger as the dog turned and walked away. The runt was so focused on him that he didn't pay attention to snipers shooting though the rooms and windows. He yelped as a bullet came near his paw and he ducked behind a downed vehicle.

 _"Yuri, I saw him!"_ Roach barked.

 _"Take point then,"_ Yuri licked the blood on his teeth, _"And I'll handle it on my own once we see him."_

Roach took off like a bolt of lightning, dodging the bullets brushing past his fur as he took down a hostile guarding his way. He felt a burst of energy ignite through his body. The fur on his back was lifted up and his eyes were full of fury. He'd never felt this way in a long time, and as long as he had the feeling, nothing could get in his way. Yuri liked the burning fire in the runt, as it made it easier to get through the path of dogs and enemies. Roach was suddenly taken by surprise by another dog tackling him. _"Gotcha, you little mutt,"_ He heard the dog on top of him chuckle. Yuri seemed he needed to assist, but was quickly reassured when Roach used his back paws to kick the dog off. He then gave a wink to Yuri before returning to fight this blood-thirsty K9.

Yuri ran up the stairs, just in time to watch as Makar disappear around the corner. He growled, speeding past the hostiles he should really be killing right now. But for now, Makar was all he wanted. The enemies seemed to have ignored him anyway since they took the sign that the runt wasn't after them. Yuri followed the scent, and it lead him to higher levels and more stairs. But hell. He knew his prey was close. Yuri was though suddenly thrown off to the side by some debris bursting from the side. He yelped a bit, feeling something pop in his ribs. _Not now..._ He quickly got up, slowly shaking off the cement and dust on his fur before half limping up towards the open door.

Then as he got outside, he began to feel the drops of rain on his nose. In the center of the roof, was that large and burnt dog. _"I'll kill you, damned_ _дворняжка,"_ Yuri snarled, walking slowly while paying attention to the move he was about to pull.

 _"I'd love to see you try, my 'friend',"_ Makar commented, creeping slowly towards Yuri. _I'll rip you apart, Makar._ And after it seemed like forever, Makar finally had enough time waiting and lunged out. Yuri barked, lifting his front paws to claw out at him as his opponent forward to bite his snout off. Unsuccessful, he nipped again at the runt's head. Yuri's only goal for now was to wear him down without getting a mark on him. He parried each strike, and it slightly amused Makar since it really looked like he was too scared to put up a fight. But even he knew that couldn't be true considering his tail wasn't between his legs. Yuri finally lunged for his neck and hung on as Makar tried to shake him off, nearly yelping at the pain of the runt's sharp teeth. Both could feel that a chunk of his flesh was nearly about to come off, and when it finally did, Yuri felt successful at weakening his opponent.

But Makar wasn't down, and he pawed out at the smaller dog. This one particular strike made Yuri stumble, and just as he landed against the ground, the roof seemed to have broke below him because of the weak condition it was in as the enemy chopper fired its shots at the floors below it. He didn't fall too far, but he was now once again trapped in debris and unable to get out. He even felt something impale his stomach. Makar leaped down, chuckling at the sight of Yuri trying to struggle to get out. He had the mouse cornered and helpless. _"Good fight, Yuri,"_ Makar said, getting closer, _"But I win-"_

Before he could finish, Makar was tackled down by another small runt, and Yuri was surprised to see Roach, partly bloodied and scarred from the earlier fight he had with the other dog. But immediately having Makar pinned, Roach went to Yuri's side and tried pulling him out. That only made his condition worse after feeling something warm and wet beginning to quickly ooze out from his stomach. _"Roach..."_ Yuri groaned out something else weakly that Roach couldn't make out.

 _"What?"_

 _"B-Behind you...!"_

Roach didn't have time to turn around, already feeling the other dog's teeth sink into his harness, tossing him away from Yuri and being thrown towards a part of the building without a wall. This part not only lead outside, but it also lead to a very long fall. Roach backed away from the edge only to be pawed out at the thigh. He swiftly turned around, seeing Makar slowly creeping towards him. The more closer he got, Roach could feel his back paws nearly slip. Then with a sudden nip towards his nose, the runt jolted back, having only his lower half hanging off the edge while his front half hung on desperately for dear life. Makar stepped on one of Roach's paws, making them slide towards him. _Nonononononono-_

 _"'Dasvidaniya', mutt,"_ Makar said.

Roach looked over at Yuri, who lightly pawed out as if to reach for him. Then he turned back at Makar, seeing a clear spot for his teeth to sink into. He then looked at Makar's face, and closed his eyes for a short second. By the time he opened them, his pouty eyes were taking action. The larger dog was slightly surprised by this, and with his distracted by his eyes, Roach lunged forward and sunk his mouth into his neck, close to where a small chunk was taken out. Makar howled out, almost sounding a like a strangled scream. This made him back up, allowing Roach's hind to be back on ground. Then he threw Makar off towards the ledge, or at least tried to. His power throw was more like a "drag-over-to-the-side". But it was powerful enough, and with no time to latch onto anything with his teeth, Makar fell.

Roach licked the blood off of his teeth and looked down from the ledge, seeing the larger dog's body laying motionless on the concrete, beginning to bleed out. _"Ha... I did it!"_ Roach backed away from the ledge, wagging his tail at the achievement, _"I killed him! Woo!"_

Yuri couldn't help but wag a little too, but was weak from the blood he was losing. He really couldn't care less about his wounds though. His nightmare is gone. His vision, however, was getting hazier and brighter. Then his eyes closed as just as Roach approached him, and he could no longer hear the distant gunfire and Roach's excitement.

 _"He's dead, Yuri,"_ Roach panted, _"We won-... Yuri? Yuri, wake up. What's wrong?"_

Yuri didn't open his eyes as Roach nudged him a bit, but there was no response. The runt whined a bit, sensing that Yuri was already gone due to the blood loss. He sat down next to the corpse. His heart sank, and out of deep sadness, Roach pointed his nose to the sky and howled. He didn't care if anyone heard him. Roach stopped shortly after, and laid down. His eyes too began to slowly flutter shut and the sounds around him disappeared.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for being patient, readers! Hopefully I can get the last chapter updated soon :3**


	35. Conclusion

**Aurgh... I actually bit a small part of my tongue hard enough to make it bleed DX**

 **Axis1:** **Ghost is still very much alive. Thanks for the review :3**

 **Troopergirl49:** **Yuri must be dead because we all love him XD Just kidding. (All part of my plan all along)**

* * *

Roach felt sore all over his body, and his eyes were a bit groggy when he tried to open them. He whined a bit at the pain he was in. When he sniffed, he didn't smell any smoke or dust. He instead breathed in something that smelled like medicine. He even felt that some parts of his skin were tight. He finally found the strength to adjust to the brightness in the place he was in. He saw that he was in a small, white room, and his body was resting on a table. He looked ahead to see a dog laying on the floor, whose breathing was slow and steady. Roach recognized the scent and whined a bit to grab his attention, _"G-Ghost...?"_

The dog's ears perked up and its eyes opened, and he wagged his tail as he stood up, _"Hey. Look who finally decided to wake up."_

Roach wagged his tail as Ghost walked over and put his front paws up on the table. The runt slightly panicked a bit, thinking back to his previous mission, _"Ghost... Yuri, did he make it? Where is he?"_

Ghost lowered his ears a bit, _"He wasn't with you when they came back. I can only assume he's dead, Roach."_

Roach sighed, pausing for a moment before opening his eyes again, _"I did it though, Ghost. I killed that dog that killed our friends."_

 _"You did?"_

 _"Pouty eyes, Ghost... Guess it works."_

 _"What-"_

As Roach finished, someone entered the room, and both dogs wagged their tails, Roach's being slightly slow. The human that entered rubbed the runt's ears, who then sat up to lick that person's chin, or at least tried to. He whined again at the pain, but was eager to get up and out. "Easy, bud," the man said, and then proceeded to lift Roach up and onto the floor. With his paws on the ground, nearly slipping, he walked up to greet Ghost with a joyful lick on the snout. Ghost was happy too, though was a bit tired himself from waiting for so long for Roach to wake up. _"Good to have you back,"_ He said, _"How're you feeling?"_

 _"Mm... Aside from the pain,"_ Roach began, _"I'm actually pretty starving."_

 _"Thought so. You might be getting it now."_ Ghost glanced up at the human, and wagged his tail a bit while backing up, _"Of course after your little medication."_

 _"Medication? You mean like the pills shoved down your throat?"_

 _"Mm-hmm..."_

 _"Oh. Well it can't be that bad can it-"_ Roach was stopped shortly as the man crouched down and told the runt to sit. Roach did so, and was suddenly uncomfortable with the feeling of his mouth being forced open. He felt the man's fingers in his throat, dropping something down his neck and shortly pulling them out as Roach took a moment to shake off that feeling. _"That... Actually wasn't enjoyable. I can see why you don't like them."_

 _"They're for your own good."_

 _"Shut up..."_

Walking rather slow, Ghost slowed down to match Roach's pace as they made their way outside. Though with the urge to itch the stitches in his skin and his fur, it was mostly the reason why the runt was being so slow. He finally tried focusing on something else rather than the scars and stitches. _Um... Food! Meat! Er..._ His thoughts were interrupted as he and Ghost got outside. It felt nice to breathe in some fresh air, and when Roach looked ahead, he could see Nika curled up to John, who both looked exhausted from something. Though when Nika caught the sight of both dogs coming slowly down the steps, she immediately got up and barked with excitement. _These guys really missed me._

 _"Roach!"_ Nika ended up tackling him to the ground. While Roach was busy struggling with an energetic pup, John strolled over to Ghost, _"How's the pisspup?"_

 _"He's got some fresh ones for once,"_ Ghost commented, referring to the stitched up marks on Roach's body.

 _"They suit him."_

 _"They do."_

 _"Augh! Nika, alright!"_ Roach laughed a bit, while struggling to get up, _"Okay, take it easy there."_

 _"Sorry, it's just that... We've been so worried about you since your and Yuri left. I thought... You were gonna die."_

 _"It's okay... It's all over now. We won't be fighting for a while now."_

 _"Still doesn't mean we can let our guard down,"_ John commented.

 _"Can I at least sleep and eat for once? All of these busy days have made me hungry."_

 _"We saved a bowl for you. Let's go."_

* * *

 **And... This is the end! God, I've got no idea how to end something anymore :p**

 **But I want to thank everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed this story. I actually didn't know it was gonna get some positive attention. It was just a ridiculous idea at first for me since when I first wrote this, I was sort of going through a tough stage in my life and just seeing a picture of Ghost and Roach as dogs made me smile a bit, and thus this story came to mind. But I really did enjoy writing this. There were times when I wanted to discontinue the story since I've had those ups and downs (Mostly the downs), but I'm really glad I didn't. Thanks again all you readers- Hey! Ghost get off of Roach! I'm not getting to that story yet! Bad Ghost! *Throws journal* Bad!**


End file.
